TEHRAN-Renowned Iranian ney player Jamshid Andalibi passed away on Tuesday, March 5, due to cardiac arrest.

A master of playing ney, an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian, Turkish, and Arabic music, he died at the age of 66, Mehr reported.

Andalibi first learned to play ney by himself, and then he continued to learn the techniques of this instrument by attending the University of Tehran and getting to know the master of ney Hossein Omoumi. 

He learned radif, a collection of many old melodic figures, from musicians such as Nasrollah Nasehpour, Nour-Ali Boroumand, and Mohammad-Reza Lotfi. In 1981, he went to master Hassan Kassai in Isfahan to complete the advanced techniques of ney playing.

The ney has been played continually for 4,500–5,000 years, making it one of the oldest musical instruments used in folk and classical traditions in West Asia and Eastern Europe. Blown at the end, it is sometimes fitted with a mouthpiece in the form of a ring that serves to protect the blowing edge and facilitate playing.

During his life, Andalibi collaborated with well-known Iranian singers and musicians including Mohammad-Reza Shajarian and Hossein Alizadeh in tracks such as “Bidad,” “Nava,” “Dastan,” and “NeyNava” among many others. In addition to playing nay, he was also active in composing, and released several albums as well.

“NeyNava” by Hossein Alizadeh is one of the lasting musical projects in the country, the ney solo performance of which was done by Andalibi.

“NeyNava” has become one of the most authentic and valuable melodies in the history of Iranian music, due to the presence of artists such as Alizadeh with his unique creativity and mastery, and Andalibi with his enchanting solo playing of ney.

The word “NeyNava” consists of two words, Ney and Nava meaning the sound of ney in Persian. A Fusion of East and West music, it is a Concerto for ney and string orchestra and one of Alizadeh's most popular compositions.

Andalibi also arranged and played the pieces of famous Iranian composer and violinist Abolhasan Saba with ney in the form of educational radifs. 

SS/