ZARBANG




From Right to Left:

Pejman Hadadi (Iran)
Pejman began playing tombak at the age of ten with the masters Asadollah Hejazi and Bahman Rajabi. Upon immigration to the United States (1990), he began his professional career, performing and recording with ensembles of Persian classical music as well as Indian, Turkish and American musicians.
In 1995, Pejman Hadadi joined the famous Dastan Ensemble. Over the years, he has also perfomed with some of the masters of Persian music including Hossein Alizadeh, Shahram Nazeri, Hossein Omoumi, Parisa, Ali Akbar Moradi and Ardeshir Kamkar.
Pejman, recipient of the prestigious Durfee Foundation Master Musician Award, is also the founder of Neyreez World Percussion Academy in Southern California, where he teaches Tombak and Daf.

 Javid Afsari Rad (Iran)
   Started playing the Santoor and the traditional Persian Radif at the age of sixteen with Saeed Naimimanesh, Parviz Meshkatian and master musician Faramarz Payvar. Javid is a Music graduate from the University of Oslo (Norway) where he has lived since 1986.
   His album Caravan with Abdulrahman Surizehi the master of Baloucistani Benju  in 1999 was highly acclaimed and in 2006 he Composed and performed with the  Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra which brought him the prestigious prize from the Norwegian Radio Symphonic orchestra.

 Hakim Ludin  (Afghanistan)
   Began his professional career with a classical orchestral education at the conservatory of Karlsruhe in Germany. He has played in numerous Jazz and avant garde ensembles and composed musical works for several renowned theaters in Germany.
   His solo Album "One World Percussion", as well as "Planet Lounge" with Christoph Spendel and Naoki Kenji are among his highly acclaimed works . He also has collaborated with stellar jazz musicians Jonas Hellborg, Alex Acuna (Weather Report), Luis Conte (Yellow Jackets) and Terry Bozzio (Frank Zappa Band).

Behnam Samani (Iran)
  He studied Tombak with D. Mohebi in Isfahan since the age of 13. He has been performing in Europe since 1987 and has collaborated with some of the most celebrated Iranian musicians including F. Paewar, M. Zarief and R. Badie as well as international artists such as H. Charasia, D. Schneider and H. Mitschke. Behnam Samani has peformed with Zarbang and Karavane and leads the Ensemble Samani and also a member of Dastan Ensemble. Currently residing in Cologne (Germany), Behnam has performed solo in some distinguished festivals in Brazil, Germany, Sweden, UK, Switzerland and Italy. Over the last two years, he has played in such prestigious concert halls as the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Gasteig in Munich and Rasa in Utrecht.

Reza Samani (Iran)
`  Reza 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 Zorna and later the Ney-Anban (Persian Bagpipe) and the Daf. In 1999 he traveled 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 and  teaching Tombak and Daf.

Morshed Mehregan (Iran)
   Mehregan became interested in Varzeshe Baastaani ( Ancient Iranian 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 development. 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 Tehran, where he resides.