Mahan Mirarab is a musician and composer whose roots lie in Tehran and whose journey has carried him to Vienna. On his multi-neck guitar, he speaks an honest language—one that transcends words, weaving together stories of migration, memory, and belonging.

In his music, European chamber textures meet the fluidity of contemporary jazz, opening new paths into the heart of Iranian classical traditions. These are not mere fusions but reimaginings—soundscapes where heritage and innovation dance together.

Mirarab belongs to a generation of young migrant artists in Europe who are reshaping the borders of sound. With a commitment to dialogue, diversity, and creativity, he seeks to craft new narratives around Middle Eastern cultures and jazz. The result is a style at once intricate and disarmingly accessible—music that invites both thought and feeling.

As a composer and arranger, Mirarab draws from a vast musical vocabulary. His rhythms and harmonies speak of journeys across genres—jazz, experimental, acoustic and electronic worlds, folk traditions, and the stages of film, dance, and theatre. His compositions refuse cliché; instead, they expand the possibilities of how traditions can meet and transform each other.

For Mirarab, jazz is not just a genre but a philosophy—a way of listening, of resisting, of finding one’s voice. “As a migrant in Europe, I carry deep influences from my cultural background,” he says. “Through the philosophy of jazz, I discover my own language—one that breaks free of conventions.”

A restless and versatile spirit, he moves fluidly between jazz and European, Iranian, Arabic, and Kurdish classical music. His collaborations span continents and styles: from the Vision String Quartet, Tonkünstler Orchester, and Berlin Metropolitan Orchestra, to the NDR Bigband and Anthony Braxton Orchestra; to Aynur Doğan and Sakina Teyna in Kurdish music, Alim Qasimov and Erkan Oğur in Azerbaijani and Turkish music, and Golnar Shahyar, Misagh Joolaee, and Kinan Azmeh in Iranian and Arabic classical forms.

In Mirarab’s music, tradition is not preserved—it is reborn. The interplay of European and Persian elements provokes both reflection and movement. “Even when the pieces are difficult to play,” he says, “the focus is always on making them groove.”

Alongside his musical career, Mirarab is deeply engaged in teaching. At Anton Bruckner University’s Jazz Institute, he serves as a Jazz Oud Instructor, offering comprehensive instruction in jazz oud with a focus on improvisation, contemporary approaches, and the integration of traditional and modern elements into jazz performance. He is also a Lecturer in the Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW), where he teaches Maqam and Radif with a contemporary approach in both ensemble settings and lectures.