It was a warm summer's night in Berlin, and a large crowd turned up at the garden of the popular venue, Pfefferberg, to hear the music of Larry Porter and Solayman Alizo. The setting under a starry sky was perfect, and the musicians responded with an offering full of verve and spontaneity. Larry Porter plays traditional Afghan music on the rebab, an instrument particularly characteristic of this music culture. He first encountered the rebab, a short-necked lute with 18 strings, on his journey through Asia in 1976, at which time he had the extraordinary opportunity to study with the renowned master, Ustad Mohammad Omar, in Kabul. Since then he has developed a unique style in which he combines folk music with elements of Indian classical improvisation. His recent CD has been highly acclaimed in the United States. The Afghan magazine, Lemar-Aftaab, based in the US wrote: “The Magical Rebab of Larry Porter is truly captivating. Porter has mastered the rebab to perfection with his noted style. Without a doubt, he is one of the best rebab players of his generation.” Larry’s repertoire consists of traditional Afghan folk songs and Hindi film tunes as well as Pakistani ghazals, classical pieces, and original compositions. He is accompanied by the outstanding tabla player, Solayman Alizo. Solayman grew up in Kabul and has lived in Germany since 1980. After his initial studies with tabla master Sankha Chatterjee, he established himself as one of the most sought after tabla players on the scene. He has played and recorded with many great names of Afghan music such as Ahmad Wali, Harun Lamha and Ustad Mawash.