Mahan Mirarab; guitar & fretless guitar
Martin Berauer; Bass
Amir Wahba; percussion
Mahan Mirarab is a musician, composer, musical director & curator. He grew up in the Iranian capital Tehran and lives in Vienna. Anyone who listens to Mirarab plays his multi-neck guitar understands the» honest language« the artist articulates in his music.
European elements of chamber music combined with contemporary forms of jazz. He represents a generation of young migrant musicians in Europe who are changing the sound borders in the music industry and are pushing for more diversity with respect to quality, dialogue, and creativity. His aim is to introduce a new narrative through music in regard to Middle Eastern cultures and jazz and in doing so he has succeeded in creating his complex yet approachable style.
His approach to composition and arrangement introduces a unique blend of rhythms and harmonies that showcases his rich musical vocabulary as well as his depth of knowledge in many different music styles. As a result, his compositions avoid so brilliantly cliche and expand the understanding of how each style can be interpreted. Mirarab is composing, arranging, and performing in many jazz, experimental, acoustic/electronic, folk, and traditional projects as well as film, dance, and theatre.
Jazz, therefore, is defined as a kind of philosophy by Mirarab. It is a way of solidarity, how to fight for one's identity, he says. »As a migrant in Europe, I bring strong influences from my cultural background «, Mirarab amplifies. »Through the philosophy of jazz, I find my own language, with the help of which I can break out of traditional conventions.«
This liberation is evident in the combination of elements of European and Persian classical music is becoming increasingly important to Mirarab. He doesn't present tradition, but represents it anew — in music that provokes practical diversion and analytical complexion, but is always defined by the relationship of rhythm to the body: »Even if the pieces are difficult to play, the focus is on making it groove.«