Vas (band)

Vas was an alternative world musical group composed of Persian vocalist Azam Ali and American percussionist Greg Ellis. Vas is frequently compared to the Australian band Dead Can Dance. The band released four full-length albums, and both artists have released a few solo albums and participated in side projects. After the group's last album, Feast of Silence, Ali and Ellis went their own separate ways.

Azam Ali was born in Iran and moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1985, where she began studying the dulcimer-like santur under the guidance of Manoochehr Sadeghi. Greg Ellis was born and raised in Los Gatos, California, where he first learned to play the drums at age twelve. Ellis moved to Los Angeles in 1984 and started work as a percussionist. The two musicians met at UCLA in 1995 after hearing each other perform; they formed Vas shortly thereafter.

List of band members

• Azam Ali (1995–2004) -- vocals, hammered dulcimer, tambura, drums
• Greg Ellis (1995–2004) -- udu, tabla, dumbek, nagara, cymbals, bells, drums, keyboards
• Cameron Stone (2000) -- cello on In the Garden of Souls

Discography

Albums

• Sunyata Narada World/MCA (1997)
• Offerings Narada World/Virgin/EMI (1998)
• In the Garden of Souls Narada World/Virgin/EMI (2000)
• Feast of Silence Narada World/Virgin/EMI (2004)

Compilation appearances

• Refuge on Earthdance 2CD (1998)
• The Reaper and the Flowers on Asleep By Dawn Issue Two (2004)
• The Next Generation - Narada Sampler
• Narada Film and Television Music Sampler

Side projects and solo projects

• Azam Ali
• Greg Ellis
• Niyaz (Azam Ali, Loga Torkian)
• Roseland (Azam Ali, Tyler Bates, Greg Ellis)

External links

• Rhythmpharm
• Vas discography on Discogs
• Vas on MySpace
• A Vas fan page on Tripod