Musicians

Hakim Ludin

Hakim Ludin, Percussion
The modern jazz and world percussionist started his musical career with a classical orchestral education at the conservatory of Karlsruhe in Germany. After completing his degree, he played in several jazz and avant garde formations and began composing music for theatre groups in Germany. Besides his own projects, studio work and appearances on television, he has performed with highly acclaimed jazz musicians Jonas Hellborg (bass, John McLaughlin), Terry Bozzio (drummer with Frank Zappa), Alex Acuna (Weather Report) and Luis Conte (Yellow Jackets). As a studio musician he can be heard on several releases. Hakim is regularly called upon to aet as the musical direetor for the international jazz and drum seminar at the Bayerische Musikakademie Marktoberdorf in Germany. As an author, he has published three instructional books on congas and percussion instruments, Flying Congas (IMP Warner), Congas & Bongos, and Percussion (both Verlag Müller/Burger). They are considered to be some of the basic works on percussion.
Hakim has been the musical director at the International Rhythm-Seminar at Marktoberdorf (Germany) with the following artists: Terry Bozzio, Steve Smith, Dave Weckl, Chad Wackermann, Luis Conte and Alex Acuna in 1994, 96, 98, 2000 and 2002. He performed at the International Percussion-Festival in Warsaw, Poland and at Documenta I I in Kassel, Germany, in 2002. In 2001 he performed at the Journees de la Percussion in Paris and in 2000 at the Pasic European Meeting in Sofia. He perfomed at the Jazz Festival in Jyväskylä, Finland in 1999. Hakim's current projects include Planet Lounge, a collaboration with jazz pianist Christoph Spendel and the sound artist Naoki Kenji. The first CD of this formation will be played on the Entertainment Program of Lufthansa Airlines. Another project is Blue Cave, a collaborative work in global thinking with the Blues-Harpist, Chris Kramer. The first set of concerts of this formation at the Balver Höhle met with overwhelming audience and critical acclaim. The solo performance Roots of Drums is another of Hakim's projects.
In the field of modern jazz 'n' world percussion, Hakim Ludin has established a new level of artistic work in percussive art. His sensitive approach to playing and colourful musical images are in high demand on live stages as weil as in recording studios. Inspired by deep emotion, his magical sound can be called "Iyrical jazz". Hakim Ludin works with Zildjian Cymbals/Sticks, AKG microphones and Remo heads and currently lives in Karlsruhe, Germany

For more information on Hakim Ludin please visit: www.hakimludin.de MySpace YouTube or email him

Behnam Samani

Behnam Valikhani Samani was born 1967 in Chahar Mahai, Bakhtiari in Iran. He started studying tonbak at the age of 13 with D. Mohebi who was situated in Isfahan. He has been performing around Europe since 1987.He has collaborated with some of the most celebrated Iranian musicians including F. Paewar, M. Zarief and R. Badie. He has worked with international artists such as Hariprasad Chaurasia, D. Schneider and H. Mischke on several acting and musical projects. Behnam has performed with Karavane and leads Ensemble Samani. 2001 he toured the USA, Britain, Brazil and Canada with Dastan Ensemble. He has performed at some distinguished festivals including the Music Festival 2001 in Sao Paulo, Persian Music Festival in Munich, Sweden and Italy, Rhythm Stick Festival in London and Rhythm Festival Zurich.Over the past years he played in prestegious concert halls such as Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Gastgeig in Munich and Rasa in Utrecht. He has performed for the SWF and WDR Radio Stations in Germany and has numerous recordings and television appearances. He currently resides in Cologne, Germany

For more information about Behnam please visit: the website of Ensemble Dastan

Reza Samani

Reza Samani, Tombak. Dar. Soma. Ney-Anban
Born in 1977 in Chahar Mahal, Bakhtiari, Iran, Reza Samani began studying the tombak with his brother Behnam Samani at the age of eight and later became the student of D. Samani At twelve he picked up the soma and later the neyanban and the daf. In 1999 he travelled to Germany to collaborate on a project with the Ensemble Samani and from then he began his professional career and residency in Germany, where he pursued the study of music and world percussion. Reza has performed at numerous festivals and concerts throughout Europe with the Zarbang Ensemble and the Ensemble Samani. He teaches tombak and daf in Cologne, from where he conducts workshops throughout Germany.

For more information visit hisMySpace

Pejman Hadadi

Pejman Hadadi, Tombak, Daf
Considered the "finest Iranian percussionist in the West" (KPFA Radio and Rhythm Magazine), Pejman Hadadi began playing tombak at the age of ten with the masters of the instrument Asadollah Hejazi and Bahman Rajabi. In 1990, upon immigration to the United States, he began his professional career, performing and recording with ensembles of Persian c1assical music as weil as Indian,
Turkish and American musicians.
In 1995, Pejman joined the Dastan Ensemble, one of today's leading, "most-forward looking Persian music ensembles" (LA Weekly). With Dastan, he has performed at many important music festivals world-wide and toured extensively throughout the US, Europe and Iran. Over the years, he has also performed with some of the masters of Persian music including Hossein A1izadeh, Shahram Nazeri, Hossein Omoumi, Parisa, Ali Akbar Moradi and Ardeshir Kamkar both locally and on tour in the US and Europe. Since 1998, Hadadi has collaborated with Banafsheh Sayyad and been the resident composer and performer with the Persian dance group, Namah Ensemble.
Daf Pejman Hadadi's modern approach to the traditional tombak lies in his ability to produce melodic patterns within rhythmic structures as weil as in his experiments with creating complex variations on the basic sounds of the tombak. He also brings to Persian rhythm an Indian percussive sensibility that he has studied over the years.
Hadadi has a deep interest in uncovering ancient Persian rhythms that were later adopted by Indian music and can be traced in their repertoire.
The recipient of the prestigious Durfee Foundation Master Musician Award, Pejman Hadadi is the founder of the Neyreez World
Percussion Academy in Sherman Oaks and Newport Beach in Southern California, where he teaches tombak and daf.

For more information about Pejman please visit: the website of Ensemble Dastan | Pejman Hadadi's Official Website | Dafdrum

"Hadadi's music can be mystical and contemplative but also stirring and ce/ebratory, his more frenetic songs inspired men and women ta applaud wildly" Jonathan Curiel, Dirty Linen World and Folk
Music Review, 6/01

"Pejman Hadadi is the finest lranian percussionist living in Americo" - William Bloomhuff, Rhythm
Magazine, 6/0I

"Hadadi delivered a mighty tombak solo that had the whole house aut oftheir seats and yelling" - GregBurk, LA Weekly, 10/00

Morshed Mehregan

Mehregan became interested in Varzeshe Baastaani (Ancient Iranien Martial Arts) at the age of 16. From very early on he was magnetically pulled towards becoming a morshed (guide). In the Ancient Iranian Martial Arts, the morshed recites, sings and plays the zarb zoorkhane or drum, rousing up the participants and guiding them through their exercises for inner and outer developement. By joining Zarbang, he became the first morshed to combine the zoorkhane style of vocalization and percussive sound with other percussive music of Iran. He holds a degree in physical education which he teaches alongside his practice and teaching at the zoorkhane in Teheran, where he resides.