Cyminology (Iranian Jazz)

[Rasputin]

Bobby McFerrin invited her on stage in Braunschweig (Germany) two years ago to sing a vocal remix of Persian poems from the 11th century. This reference from the father of modern Jazz singing shows clearly how talented the young German singer Cymin Samawatie is. This year the daughter of Iranian emigrants is going to publish her first album with her quartet.

It succeeds in connecting the fairytale-like language of Persian poetry with first class World Jazz of American influence.The Band started to perform and gain awards in Germany since 2002. 2005 they have taken up the opportunity to play their music internationally. Their live record 'get strong' is already sold out. But their studio debut 'per se' has just been released. "Cymin Samawatie combines the exotic sensuality of the orient with jazz improvisation, to create a fresh new synthesis.

The engaging original compositions and sensitive interaction within the band make this CD a most satisfying listening experience!" (David Friedman)Let yourself be taken to a place, where famous iranian poets like Hafiz and Omar Khayyam meet exceptional Jazz musicians.

Cymin Samawatie - vocalBenedikt Jahnel - pianoRalf Schwarz - double bassKetan Bhatti - drums

Originals from Iranian classic to Jazz

What happens when Iranian Lyric meets contemporary Jazz? Cyminology answers that question. The Band started to perform and gain awards in Germany since 2002. 2005 they have taken up the opportunity to play their music internationally. Their live record "get strong" is already sold out. But their studio debut "per se" has just been released. "Cymin Samawatie combines the exotic sensuality of the orient with jazz improvisation, to create a fresh new synthesis. The engaging original compositions and sensitive interaction within the band make this CD a most satisfying listening experience!" (David Friedman)

Let yourself be taken to a place, where famous iranian poets like Hafiz and Omar Khayyam meet exceptional Jazz musicians.

[Rasputin]

گروه سيمينولوژی با ترکيبی از موسيقی جاز و اشعار عرفانی ايرانی ، در طی چند سال اخير موفق به جلب نظر بسياری از منتقدان وهواداران موسيقی جاز در آلمان و ديگر نقاط دنيا از جمله کره جنوبی شده است.

اين گروه چهار نفره (سيمين سماواتی : خواننده و آهنگساز، بنديکت يانل : پيانو، رالف شوآرتز : کنترباس، کتان باتی: درامز) از سال 2002 ميلادی بطور مداوم در بسياری از فستيوال های موسيقی جاز آلمان برنامه اجرا کرده و چندين جايزه مانند جايزه موسيقی جاز و بلوز برلين را به خود اختصاص داده است.

موسيقی اين گروه مورد ستايش بسياری از نشريه های معتبر موسيقی جاز آلمان قرار گرفته است. نشريه Jazzpodium در باره اين گروه نوشته:

" .... گروه چهار نفره ای که موفق شده کلام و فرهنگ موسيقی ايران باستان را با موسيقی جاز بياميزد.... شايد اين بهترين راه برای ساختن پلی بين اين دو فرهنگ باشد.... جريانی بسيار مفيد برای موسيقی معاصر جاز در صحنه موسيقی آلمان."

نشريه Jazzthing نيز در باره گروه سيمينولوژی نوشته:

" گروه سيمينولوژی حسی جادويی می آفريند که شما را به رقص وا می دارد و لبخندی بر روی لبانتان ترسيم می کند. موسيقی اين گروه سرشار از فعل و انفعال پر احساس بين چهار نوازنده است همراه با صدای الهام بخش سيمين سماواتی که با لطافت صدای خود شما را تا آخرين لحظه به سکوت وا می دارد."

اولين آلبوم گروه مجموعه ای از اجراهای زنده موسيقی آنها با نام Get Stronger بود که درسال 2002 ميلادی به بازار ارائه شد و اولين آلبوم استوديی اين گروه با نام Per Se در سال 2005 راهی بازار شد.

سيمين سماواتی خواننده گروه متولد 14 ژانويه سال 1976 ميلادی در شهر برانشوگ آلمان است. او دوازده ساله بود که نواختن پيانو را آغاز کرد و يک سال بعد شروع به آموختن آوازخوانی کرد و در گروه های مختلف کر می خواند.

در سال 1992 سيمين همراه با رالف شوآرتز نوازنده گيتار (که بعدا نوازنده کنترباس گروه شد) گروه دو نفره RACY را تشکيل داد. اين دو در چندين شهر آلمان مشغول به اجرای موسيقی خود شدند و به اين ترتيب هسته مرکزی گروه شکل گرفت.

چندی بعد در سال 1995 سيمين به مدت چهار سال مشغول تحصيل موسيقی کلاسيک و نواختن پيانو، درامز و همينطور آواز خوانی در Hochschule fur Musik und Theater در شهر هانوور شد. در اين مدت سيمين علاقه خود را برای موسيقی جاز از دست نداد و از اين رو از سال 2000 تا 2005 در Hochschule der kunste مدرسه هنری شهر برلين به ياد گرفتن آواز خوانی در سبک جاز پرداخت.

ديگر اعضای گروه نيز هر کدام به نوبه خود نوازنده های ماهر و مسلطی هستند که در نواختن ساز موسيقی خود مهارت ويژه ای دارند و بارها موفق به کسب جايزه از سوی آکادمی های موسيقی آلمان شده اند.

Per Se آلبومی است در سبک Vocal Jazz که از قابليت و مهارت بالايی برخوردار است. در آن از اشعار خيام، حافظ و محمود ميرزايی به جای ترانه ها استفاده شده که به فارسی با صدای جذاب سيمين سماواتی اجرا شده اند.

سازها بطور پراکنده تنظيم و ضبط شده اند در نتيجه موسيقی جای نفس کشيدن برای خواننده باقی می گذارد. آلبوم بطور کل حال و هوايی اروپايی دارد و تمايلی آنچنانی به موسيقی جاز مرسوم آمريکايی ندارد برای مثال نمی توان آن را در کنار آلبوم Diana Krall گذاشت، Per Se از جنسی ديگر است. اين از طرفی بدليل اشاره هايی به موسيقی کلاسيک در موسيقی آلبوم است و از طرفی ديگر در ريتم هايی که باتی دارمر گروه می نوازد. ريتم های او در سبک جاز سنتی نيستند. ريتم های درامز مينيمال(حد اقل) هستند ولی همراه با کنترباس شوآرتز قسمت ريتم گروه را با مهارت و خلاقيت پر می کنند.

اولين نقطه قوت آلبوم Per Se و گروه سيمينولوژی بيش از هر چيز ديگر داشتن صدای مخصوص به خود است. به اين معنی که آلبوم و موسيقی گروه را بطور مشخص با گروه ديگری نمی توان مقايسه کرد بلکه فقط تاثيرات آنها از ديگر نوازندگان و سبک های موسيقی جاز را می توان بيرون کشيد و يا نشان داد. برای مثال شباهت سبک اجرای خواننده گروه، سيمين را می توان با Bobby McFerrin مقايسه کرد و يا در پيانوی يانل، می توان تاثير شايد غير مستقيمی از پلی ريتم های Dave Brubeck يافت. به عبارت ديگر بعد از شنيدن آلبوم برای اولين بار وجذب موسيقی آن به راحتی می توان اين گروه را از ميان انبوه جدا کرد. اين امر تنها هنگامی ميسر است که اعضای گروه کاملا مسلط و از هماهنگی منسجمی بر خوردار باشند.

نکته دوم لطيف و ساده بودن آلبوم است. ساده بدين معنا که ملودی ها و موتيف های موسيقی بيش از اندازه آرايش نشده اند. هر قطعه به طور روان به قطعه بعدی می پيوندد. اين نشانه قدرت ساختن و پرداختن موسيقی توسط آهنگساز و نوازنگان است. گاهی دانستن اين که چه نتی را نبايد نواخت سودمندتر است.

ملودی زبان فارسی هنوز محور مرکزی برای هارمونی موسيقی سيمينولوژی نيست. اشعاری که سيمين می خواند اگرچه به زبان فارسی هستند ولی در قالب ريتم ها و هارمونی موسيقی جاز اجرا می شوند. استفاده اشعار ايرانی به زبان فارسی هنوز به صورت تزيینی است. اين شيوه کاملا متفاوت با آهنگسازان موسيقی جاز ده 50 - 60 ميلادی است که از ملودی های موسيقی غير آمريکايی به صورت خالص استفاده می کردند و در نتيجه هارمونی می بايست خود را با آنها تطبيق می داد. يکی از بهترين نمونه اين آميختگی ملودی و هارمونی را در کار Gil Evans و Miles Davis در آلبوم Sketches of Spain سال 1959 می توان يافت.

دومين آلبوم گروه سيمينولوژی در سال 2007 به بازار ارائه خواهد شد.

[golgol85]

very interesting! I am fan of jazz music, went to a restaurant where they played live jazz music about 2 months ago, it felt like i had gone back in time, i loved it! I heard about her but i have yet to take a listen to her music, but i am sure it will be pleasing to the ear combining jazz and iranian poetry should be a beautiful combination. thank you for sharing this.

[Rasputin]

I love them.. they are the best !

[Rasputin]

A MYSTIC VOICE AS IF FROM 1001 NIGHTS

Cyminology proves with its music: Interculturality is already a part of everyday life. Cyminology has spread its music ALL over Germany, as well as to the far Korea. The audience is abducted into a world between orient and occident, to the bazaars from the tales of “1001 Arabian Nights”. This occurs, at least for the members of Cyminology, right in their neighbourhood: Berlin. It’s no surprise: Cyminology is a multi-national band. Cymin’s family descends from Iran; Benedikt Jahnel (piano) was born in France, Ralf Schwarz (bass) comes from Germany and Ketan Bhatti (drums) is a native of India. They met in a city where theintercultural music matches the multicultural way of living.

Cyminology’s music combines oriental exoticism with the new music from Germany’s capitol to form a unique style of Jazz. Sometimes energetic, sometimes full of far eastern melancholy, Cymin Samawatie and her musical partners paint a musical horizon for their metropolis.

Therefore, Cyminology presents not only a unique musical genre, but also brings to the stage an intercultural view of life. Always presented with great virtuosity in a strictly acoustic setting, this is a flavour of vocal jazz somewhere between “new” jazz and the “old” classical style; an intense musical colour is created to support the mystical Persian Lyrics.

Bobby McFerrin invited her 2003 on stage in Braunschweig (Germany) to sing a vocal remix of Persian poems from the 11th century. This reference from the father of modern Jazz singing shows clearly how talented the German-Iranian singer Cymin Samawatie is. This year the daughter of Iranian emigrants is going to publish her second album “bemun” with her quartet. It succeeds in connecting the fairytale-like language of Persian poetry with first class World Jazz of American and European influence.


In the year 2005 the band released it’s first studio album “per se”. Featured and promoted by Germany’s biggest jazz magazine “JazzThing” the album quickly gained a lot of attention and acclaim from the press and listeners. The fusion of modern vocal jazz and influences from poems and songs from the ancient Persia are the main topic of Cyminology’s music. Strong and rhythmic but at the same time fragile and sensitive – the band can hardly be put into any one category. There’s always a strong groove in the band’s music, even in the quietest moments, and all pieces have a warm, organic, earthy, very special feel which makes the music truly unmistakeable. One critic states: “Cyminology proves that it is possible to glow without exploding”.

The Musicians of Cyminology have already performed on international festival stages with jazz-giants like Bobby McFerrin, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Dianne Reeves, Monty Alexander, Till Brönner, Charlie Mariano, Jasper van’t Hof and Frank Möbus.

Audiences love the band - it is clear, that Cyminology´s music is at it’s peak, when it’s played live – the band is touring constantly in countless clubs as well as big festivals like“Jazzwoche Burghausen”, “Palatia Jazz”, “Morgenland Festival”, etc.



For more visit their website www.Cyminology.de.

[Rasputin]

The voice of a multi-cultural band based in Germany, Cymin Samawatie has a lot to be excited about. Her band and their music is currently being featured on Lufthansa's international flights and they have a music tour planned in the coming months in the United States. Coming from such an interesting background and working with similar artists from Germany and India, Cymin has just released a second CD and is taking the world by storm.



Tell us a little about yourself.

Cymin Samawatie: My family descends from Iran but I was born and grew up in Germany. I was raised bilingual and bicultural. My father taught me how to read and write Farsi. Every summer during the holidays we stayed in Teheran for 6 weeks. In 1992 I spent one year of high school in the U.S. and two years later I finished high school in Germany and started studying music. I studied classical music as well as jazz in Hannover and Berlin. Cyminology is the band that I am presently singing in and writing for.

PM: What attracted you to the Arts and how did your family influence your decision?

CS: As far as I can remember I always loved to listen and dance to music, but I also enjoyed making it myself. My father is not a professional musician, but he sang a lot at home and made me sing too. He used to record our voices on tape when we were little. I have records from the time I was about two or three years old. I would sing children’s songs, and in the middle of the song I would transition to my own lyrics and melodies. Maybe I already loved to improvise, or I just forgot the lyrics of the song.

At the age of twelve I started taking piano lessons and one year later I had my first try at leading a choir all by myself. My Hungarian music teacher said she felt I was very gifted. I learned a lot from her and she was the reason that I also wanted to become a music teacher. I studied classical music at a conservatory in Hannover for four years. My major was piano but after two years I switched to drums. During my studies I came into contact with jazz musicians. I started to love and learn jazz standards from Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Horace Silver and many more. I was fascinated by scat singing and enjoyed improvising. After my classical studies I started studying (vocal) jazz and composition at the “Hochschule der Künste” in Berlin in 2000.

In our family I am the only one to pursue the Arts for a living. That might be the reason why it is still not very easy for my parents to see music as my profession. They would be more comfortable seeing me as a teacher of music in school or at a conservatory. They do support me though and understand more and more of my music. And they are very happy and proud that through it I have gotten deeper into the Iranian culture.


PM: Tell us about your first professional singing part and how it felt?

CS: In 1993 I started to work with Ralf Schwarz (our bass player). At that time he played guitar. We composed our own music and I wrote English lyrics. We had our first concert in a small café in Detmold (Germany). Before each song I explained what the song was about and why we wrote it. Most of the lyrics were depressive and I wanted the listeners to understand why I felt that way. I felt that the audience was listening intently and really getting into our music. And afterwards quite a few came to the stage and showed their appreciation for our work. Even the organizer liked our music and gave us money for the performance. It was a great experience and felt really good.

PM: Tell us about your band and the type of music you play.

CS: Cyminology is four musicians, each with their own unique background and history. We love building things together that none of us could build alone. Benedikt Jahnel (our piano player) was born in France and grew up in Bavaria (Germany). Ralf Schwarz (our bass player) is a German and Ketan Bhatti (our drummer) is a native of India but also grew up in a small town in the middle of Germany.

All of us have been influenced by an array of different musicians and music styles. Our compositions show who we are and what we love. Farsi has a very beautiful sound to me and I also love the rich ancient poems of Khayyam, Hafis and Rumi. That is why I love to sing in my mother tongue. My compositions are influenced by so many things that I have a hard time describing it. I believe that you can find some elements from Debussy, Steve Reich or Michio Kitazume but also from Wayne Shorter, Miles Davis, Bobby McFerrin, Sarah Vaughan, Erykah Badu and many more. Since our line up is known from the jazz tradition and we all improvise, I would say that we play contemporary jazz music.

PM: What is next?

CS: We are thinking about bringing new elements into our program. We’ve met a very interesting light designer and I also have some new ideas for our live performances I’m playing with in my mind..!


PM: How has your Iranian heritage influenced your music? What is your favorite part about Iran and its rich culture?

CS: When I was young my family regularly attended Persian ceremonies. I really enjoyed dancing to the music and I loved singing along with the singers. I don’t know how much this is influencing my music today but I am a German-Iranian woman who was born and raised by Iranian parents in Germany. As I mentioned, my music shows who I am and what I love. I just sing and write what I hear inside of me.

Iran has a very deep culture. I am fascinated from the wise and profound writings. I love the beautiful landscapes and I miss the warmhearted people I met there so long ago. I haven’t been in Iran for more than ten years now. But a favorite side of Iran and its rich culture for me is also the wide range of great food – I’m glad that I can at least buy and cook some of that here in Europe.

PM: Desert Island. Three things. What will you take?

CS: A grand piano, the bible and my husband (and I think he would add: A bass)!

Full Name: Cymin Samawatie

Born In: Braunschweig, Germany

Favorite Color: Yellow

Favorite City: Berlin

Favorite Dish: Khoreschte Ghormesabsi

Languages: German, English, Farsi, some French

Currently Hearing: Wayne Shorter “alegria” & Sima Bina “ahuje man”

[Rasputin]

Cymin Samawati

Iranian-German jazz singer with her band Cyminology

Their MySpace page: www.myspace.com/cyminology


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAmF9pZg9Iw[/ame]

[Rasputin]

http://www.radiofarda.com/content/F7_fresh_glance_Cyminology/1506106.html