Tara Jaff
Encyclopedia
Tara Jaff is an Iraqi
Kurdish
musician
who has been exposed to many influences. Her father was an Iraqi diplomatr from Halabja
. Over the years, she experimented with different string instrument
s, but it was her fascination with the ancient harp
s of Sumer
ia, Assyria
and Elam
, dating as far back as 3000 BC that led her to the contemporary Celtic harp. She has embraced this instrument and introduced to Kurdish music
in particularly folk songs. She has developed her own innovative style to adapt to the various musical rhythms and modes of the region, bringing a contemporary expression to an ancient form of music and song. She has been living in the United Kingdom
since 1976 and has performed widely mainly as a solo artist in concerts, festivals, galleries, conferences as well having appeared regularly on radio and television worldwide. Her occasional collaborations have been with a wide range of artists such as film-makers, story-tellers, poets, painters as well as other musicians. She is also involved in outreach work where she takes her harp to hospital
s to play soothing music for patients and staff.
Along with Fran Hazelton and June Peters she founded Zipang, a storytelling group which focuses on stories from ancient Mesopotamia
. For the past several years, she has been a committee member of the London Kurdish Film Festival.
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
who has been exposed to many influences. Her father was an Iraqi diplomatr from Halabja
Halabja
Halabja , is a Kurdish town in Northern Iraq, located about north-east of Baghdad and 8–10 miles from the Iranian border....
. Over the years, she experimented with different string instrument
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
s, but it was her fascination with the ancient harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s of Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
ia, Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
and Elam
Elam
Elam was an ancient civilization located in what is now southwest Iran. Elam was centered in the far west and the southwest of modern-day Iran, stretching from the lowlands of Khuzestan and Ilam Province, as well as a small part of southern Iraq...
, dating as far back as 3000 BC that led her to the contemporary Celtic harp. She has embraced this instrument and introduced to Kurdish music
Kurdish music
Kurdish music refers to music performed in Kurdish language.Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish Classical performers - storytellers , minstrels and bards . There was no specific music related to the Kurdish princely courts, and instead, music performed in night gatherings is...
in particularly folk songs. She has developed her own innovative style to adapt to the various musical rhythms and modes of the region, bringing a contemporary expression to an ancient form of music and song. She has been living in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
since 1976 and has performed widely mainly as a solo artist in concerts, festivals, galleries, conferences as well having appeared regularly on radio and television worldwide. Her occasional collaborations have been with a wide range of artists such as film-makers, story-tellers, poets, painters as well as other musicians. She is also involved in outreach work where she takes her harp to hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s to play soothing music for patients and staff.
Along with Fran Hazelton and June Peters she founded Zipang, a storytelling group which focuses on stories from ancient Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
. For the past several years, she has been a committee member of the London Kurdish Film Festival.
Albums
- Diley Dêwanem, Kom Müzik, 2006.http://tulumba.mezunusa.com/storeItem.asp?ic=MU938895AA153