Sazanda

A sazanda or sazandar (Azerbaijani: sazəndə / سازنده; Armenian: սազանդար; Persian: سازنده; Georgian: საზანდარი; alternative spellings in English: sazende, sazandeh) is one of the three musicians in the traditional ensemble of instrumentalists performing along with a singer (khananda, in the case of an Azeri mugham performance) in the South Caucasus.

Historically the word sazanda(r) was applied to any instrumentalist from Anatolia, the Caucasus or Iran, who played a folk instrument.

[1] The tradition of a musical trio of sazandas playing the aforementioned instruments did not originate until the beginning of the 20th century.

According to Jabbar Garyagdioglu, the mugham ensembles of the early 19th century consisted of three musicians playing the tar, the kamancheh and the balaban.

[3] After Sadigjan, the tar has been played nestled to the chest rather than held vertically during mugham performances.