Iranian prominent calligrapher and vocalist Ebrahim Bouzari

by Peyman Nasehpour

Ebrahim Bouzari, a distinguished Persian calligrapher, literator, and vocalist, was born in Karoud, a village in Taleqan, around 1895 or 1896. He began his primary education in the village's traditional school before moving to Tehran to further his studies in Persian and Arabic literature, as well as jurisprudence.

During this period, Bouzari developed a keen interest in calligraphy and music, dedicating himself to mastering these arts. He learned the Nasta'liq script from Zeyn al-Abedin Saatsaz, Mohammad Emad Taheri, and Emad al-Kuttab, the Thuluth script from Amir al-Kitab, and the Naskh and Reqa scripts from Ali Abd al-Rasouli.

In his youth, he studied the vocal radif repertoire of the Tabriz school under the renowned Iranian vocalist Eqbal Azar. Additionally, he benefited from the teachings of Sheikh Habibollah Shams al-Zakerin Kashi and Mirqora Kashi, and he acknowledged being significantly influenced by Mirqora after Eqbal. Bouzari also learned the instrumental radif repertoire from Abolhasan Saba, gaining an understanding of the fundamental differences between instrumental and vocal radif. Furthermore, he studied with the esteemed Iranian vocalist Hossein Taherzadeh for a period.

Alongside his Ta'ziyeh singing performances, Bouzari taught calligraphy at "Tamaddon" and "Islam" high schools in Tehran, as well as at the Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies at the University of Tehran. Together with Ali Akbar Kaveh, Seyed Hossein Mirkhani, Seyed Hassan Mirkhani, and Dr. Mehdi Bayani, he co-founded the Iranian Calligraphers Association.

Bouzari passed away in 1986 and was buried in Tehran's Behesht-e Zahra.

Bouzari's calligraphic works include the complete poetic works of Hafez, selections from the poetic works of Sa'd Salman, the first volume of Jame' al-Hekayat, the inscriptions of Sa'di's tomb and Shah Khalil Allah (in Taft city), and numerous high school textbooks. His vocals, which are considered the vocal radif repertoire of Eqbal Azar, were later released in 2011 in a collection of three CDs.

References.

[B] E Bouzari, Eqbal Azar's vocal radif  repertoire (narrated by Ebrahim Bouzari), Tehran, 2011.

[K] R Khaleqi, The Story of Iranian Music, Tehran, 1974.

[M] H Mashhoon, History of Iranian Music, Tehran, 1994.

[N] H Nasirifar, Men of Traditional and Modern Music of Iran, Tehran, 1992.

[R] A Rahjiri, Biographies of Contemporary Calligraphers, Vol. 1, Tehran, 1985.

[Z] D Zargar, Ebrahim Bouzari's Masterpiece, Tehran, 2024.