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Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi aka SoSaLa
Sohrab is D.I.Y.: the musician, the music business man and musicians rights activist
About Me
Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (aka SoSaLa) was born to Iranian parents in Zurich,
Switzerland, in 1953. At three months of age, the Saadat Ladjevardi family moved to live
in Hamburg, Germany. Growing up in Germany, Sohrab’s early lessons on piano ended
abruptly, when his teacher found she couldn’t abide his style of playing.
Sohrab’s musical journey through 1968-74 involved Sohrab playing the drums at his
home, leading to the neighbors complaining about his passionately loud rhythms. At the
same time, he took flamenco guitar lessons and jammed with friends on the drums,
however, none of this early dabbling hinted at the direction his musical life would take
upon his discovery of the saxophone – which eventually would culminate in the
formation of 2010, in New York City, of his Free Jazz/ World/Jam band, SoSaLa.
So, at the age of 22, in January 1974, Sohrab boarded a plane to Tokyo, with a one-way
ticket and 1000 Marks in his pocket, and a plan to study Kendo and Judo (Martial Arts).
His professional music career in Japan started in 1979 forming the free jazz duo
SADATO-INO GROUP in Osaka. and ended with The Tehran-Dakar Brothers in Tokyo in
2008 when he decided to move to New York that year.
In between these years, he formed a couple of other bands. Among all those bands his
favorite band was SADATO (1988-1999). He toured with his eponymous band SADATO
through Europe, the United States, and Hong Kong and released CDs on his labels
KAMPAI RECORDS and POP BIZ RECORDS; and on German labels, as well as featured
on various compilations.
When not touring Europe and the United States, or recording with his band SADATO,
Sohrab worked as an import and distribution manager for the Tokyo indie music importer,
label, and publisher ART UNION. This provided him with an invaluable education about
the music industry.
With the contacts he had by now, both overseas and in Japan, it was time to go into the
music business on his own, and from 1993 through 2008 Sohrab achieved notable
success as CEO of the Tokyo indie music company, POP BIZ LTD (PBL).
Starting a new music career in New York in 2008 wasn't easy cake. It was a struggle.
On only the second day after they arrived in NY, Sohrab launched his music career there,
playing as a street musician on the streets and in the subway by day, attending jam
sessions, and playing as a sideman in various bands and music projects by night.
Then, in 2009 he restarted his Tokyo band The Tehran-Dakar Brothers. Also, that year he
both composed music for indie films and launched DooBeeDooBeeDoo NY, an on-line
music magazine. It was during this period that Sohrab determined to become a music
activist, supporting local social and political issues, especially the Green Movement in NY.
In 2010 Sohrab formed a new band, SoSaLa, the band name derived from his own full
name, Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi. The band’s debut CD “Nu World Trash” was released
the following year. During this period, his mentor and friend Ornette Coleman provided
him with invaluable assistance and guidance. That year he changed his artist name to
that of his band: SoSaLa.
As regards his activism, in 2011 Sohrab supported the Occupy Wall Street Movement in
Manhattan at Liberty Plaza and Zuccotti Park and in 2012 he joined the musicians’ union
Local 802. He became involved in the Justice For Jazz Artists Campaign which was co-led
by the Jazz legends Bob Cranshaw and Jimmy Owens.
In 2013 SoSaLa became a US citizen. Also during that year, he was invited by Illinois
State University, Normal, IL to speak about his activism. Influenced by the musicians
union’s ideology and from his own experience as a struggling musician in New York, he
decided to create a platform for freelance musicians to organize and tackle their problems
as a group.
This plan was realized in 2015 when he founded a non-profit association for freelance
musicians called Musicians For Musicians (MFM). Sohrab’s wife was co-founder and she
also joined the Board. In the same year, he also established his music company
DooBeeDoo Biz, LLC., and indie label DooBeeDoo Records.
Widening his engagement in music activism, in 2016 SoSaLa joined the Freelancers
Union. In support of the “Freelance Isn’t Free Act,” endorsed by MFM Sohrab gave
testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Consumer Affairs “In Relation
to Establishing Protections for Freelance Workers.”
As of the beginning of 2016 until the present time (2024), in addition to running MFM,
Sohrab continues to perform and record, both as leader of the SoSaLa band and also as
the solo artist.
More about Sohrab here: https://www.Sohrab.info
More about MFM here: https://www.MusiciansForMusicians.org
Theme Song
My Jazz Story
My House Concert Story
I have been invited to a couple of house concerts in NY and outside of NY. I love house concerts because when you play there you know that people come to see you playing willing to pay a fair charge and buy merch after the concerts. In general, all the house concert hosts were nice people and music fans advocating FAIR PAY. All things said: house concerts pay well and fairly. And for a musician the opportunity to communicate directly with the audience.
