Ahmad Mansour, 48: guitarist

Leading music critics have labeled Ahmad Mansour the "thinking man's guitarist" and "a leading light of modern jazz guitar". The Iranian-born New Yorker has established a European base in Geneva, where he originally took up the instrument at international school. He told Swisster more about his work and troubled multi-cultural past. When I met Ahmad Mansour, he was preparing for a live performance on the main French speaking radio station, Radio Suisse Romande (RSR), to mark the regional Jazz Contra Band festival in October. The 48-year-old settled in Geneva several years ago and has since married and had a child. The city's attraction is part familiarity - Mansour speaks perfect French - and part convenient geography for European ventures. Local government backing for several of his projects has also helped.
“There are all kinds of interesting influences here," he said. "The music scene is very diverse for the size of the country. It’s smack in the centre of Europe, so they’re very exposed to good music."
A discreet yet eloquent man, Mansour's eleventh album, "Free Speech", has been causing a stir in international jazz circles.
"I got tired of playing over the complex harmic contsructions and written music of the 1980s and 1990s," he explained. "With Free Speech, time signatures can change within a single piece, the bass player can take a harmonic incentive and, depending on the inspiration of the moment the compositions can really go anywhere," Mansour told Swisster.
Such a loose style doesn't come with a handy safety net and can only be accomplished effectively by the most sensitive, talented musicians. Mansour's liquid fretwork is lifted by bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer Ted Poor. 
After leaving international school, Mansour attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the early 80s before successfully tackling the uncompromising jazz underworld of New York.  Such an education has clearly shaped his thoughtful and mature work. However, two devastating events in his childhood also left their mark.
His father Hassan-Ali Mansour, the youngest prime minister in modern Iranian history (and son of a former prime minister), was assassinated by an Islamic group in 1965. This was followed by the death of his mother when he was 18. 
"Given the family heritage, I don't think my parents would have been too happy about my choice of career. But ever since these events, music has always been a strong guiding force in my life and I've stuck with it for better or worse," he reflected. 

Leading music critics have labeled Ahmad Mansour the "thinking man's guitarist" and "a leading light of modern jazz guitar". The Iranian-born New Yorker has established a European base in Geneva, where he originally took up the instrument at international school. He told Swisster more about his work and troubled multi-cultural past. When I met Ahmad Mansour, he was preparing for a live performance on the main French speaking radio station, Radio Suisse Romande (RSR), to mark the regional Jazz Contra Band festival in October. The 48-year-old settled in Geneva several years ago and has since married and had a child. The city's attraction is part familiarity - Mansour speaks perfect French - and part convenient geography for European ventures. Local government backing for several of his projects has also helped.
“There are all kinds of interesting influences here," he said. "The music scene is very diverse for the size of the country. It’s smack in the centre of Europe, so they’re very exposed to good music."
A discreet yet eloquent man, Mansour's eleventh album, "Free Speech", has been causing a stir in international jazz circles.
"I got tired of playing over the complex harmic contsructions and written music of the 1980s and 1990s," he explained. "With Free Speech, time signatures can change within a single piece, the bass player can take a harmonic incentive and, depending on the inspiration of the moment the compositions can really go anywhere," Mansour told Swisster.
Such a loose style doesn't come with a handy safety net and can only be accomplished effectively by the most sensitive, talented musicians. Mansour's liquid fretwork is lifted by bassist Stomu Takeishi and drummer Ted Poor. 
After leaving international school, Mansour attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the early 80s before successfully tackling the uncompromising jazz underworld of New York.  Such an education has clearly shaped his thoughtful and mature work. However, two devastating events in his childhood also left their mark.
His father Hassan-Ali Mansour, the youngest prime minister in modern Iranian history (and son of a former prime minister), was assassinated by an Islamic group in 1965. This was followed by the death of his mother when he was 18. 
"Given the family heritage, I don't think my parents would have been too happy about my choice of career. But ever since these events, music has always been a strong guiding force in my life and I've stuck with it for better or worse," he reflected.