Life and career
Mirarab grew up in Tehran and, as a teenager, studied both Iranian music as well as the musical cultures of the Arabs, Turks and Kurds. Among other influences, he studied jazz improvisation in a workshop with Armenian jazz pianist Vahagn Hayrapetyan. He also studied architecture at the University of Teheran.
Mirarab moved to Vienna in 2009 and began playing on a custom-made double-neck guitar both with traditional frets and a frettless fingerboard. He started his own band with Golnar Shahyar (vocals, guitar), Kaveh Sarvarian (flute), Haggai Cohen-Milo (bass) and Amir Wahba (percussion), which he later expanded into a septet.
Performances and albums
In addition to concerts in Austria, Mirarab has performed in the Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin, the Cultural Center Bozart, Brussels, at festivals in London and Slovakia and at the Morgenland Festival Osnabrück.
With Golnar Shahyar and percussionist Shayan Fathi, Mirarab founded the world music trio Sehrang and released the album Dar Lahze in 2014, inspired by Iranian music. At the Jazzfest Berlin 2019, he shared the stage with American jazz musician Anthony Braxton and numerous other musicians. In March 2024, he performed his composition Say Your Most Beautiful Word in Duisburg.
Mirarab also has worked as a composer for stage and film music. In April 2025, his music for Romabaron – No Z***** Baron, a free interpretation of Johann Strauss’s operetta The Gypsy Baron was performed at Tanzquartier Wien.
