SoSaLa – ‘1994 – Live at CBGB’
Album review.

At the present moment in time we are seeing increasing numbers of illiberal political leaders who promote ‘the haves’ rather than ‘the have nots’. It offers a welcome degree of balance to focus awhile on the music and activist work of New York-based Iranian-American improvising saxophonist, polyglot vocalist and band leader, SoSaLa (short for Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi).

For SoSaLa’s music seems to express many of our current feelings, and even to a degree, our existential thinking. It is interesting that his newly released, explosive No Wave album, 1994-Live at CBGB, feels so fresh and appropriate for our time, when in fact it was recorded 31 years ago.

But saxophonist SoSaLa is as well-known these days for being a committed music activist as a band leader. As founder and president of Musicians For Musicians (MFM), the and this organisation support fair pay and conditions for those in the music industry. His activism and the strength of his feelings are clear to hear in his albums, not least in this one.

At the time 1994 was recorded, in 1994, SoSaLa went by the name Sadato, while his band was named SADATO. Much travelled, the band leader lived between 1974 and 2008 in Japan, where SADATO was the first band to introduce No Wave to Japanese audiences. A resounding success there, SADATO performed at New York’s mecca of punk, the much-missed CBGB. Their first session there was such a success that, unusually for CBGB, another date was booked for later that week, and the gig recorded.

Nine ultra- energetic live tracks are preserved in the album, flawlessly recorded by recording engineer extraordinaire, Martin Bisi. While generally in English, SoSaLa/ Sadato’s urgent vocals are also at times in German, Farsi, Japanese, and French, while his sax style incorporates multiple musical influences including his Iranian background. The band is a tight outfit, although all four musicians seem adept too at improvising, as any good jazz band would be. Masaki Shimizu (fretless bass and backing vocals), Ryo Kato (drums and backing vocals), Toshimaru Nakamura (electric guitar) all shine, as does SoSaLa, his contributions being the most abstract.

The song topics are wide-ranging, from SoSaLa’s sense, as a new arrival in Japan, that he was a ghost to the Japanese (the anguished Yurei – Ghost), to a sense of disillusionment with his life (the choleric Wer Wie Wo Was Warum – Who How Where What Why), the importance of not being too negative all the time (punky, somewhat psychedelic Positiv Ja – Positive Yes) and every day being a new day, like a birth-day (Iranian music influenced Tavalod – Birthday). The album certainly isn’t all deadly seriousness, as final song 65 testifies. This one is a love song, to Sohrab’s favourite Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Amplifier!

1994 follows publication last year of a SoSaLa studio album ‘1993’. One hopes the two albums herald some new releases/ recordings from this deeply-feeling and thinking artist, whose work both musical and activist feels entirely appropriate for and welcome in our time.

1994 was released internationally on 3rd January 2025 on Digital and CD (Limited edition of 100, each CD is numbered, and autographed).
Buy here: https://doobeedoobizllc.thrivecart.com/sosala-1994-cd/

Personnel:
Masaki Shimizu (fretless bass and backing vocals)
Ryo Kato (drums and backing vocals)
Toshimaru Nakamura (electric guitar)
SoSaLa (saxophones and vocals)
Martin Bisi (recording engineer, mixer, and producer, at B.C. Studio in Brooklyn, NY. Recorded live at CBGB.