Home » Member Page

Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi aka SoSaLa

Sohrab - Musician with Attitude (MwA) - is all-in-one.: 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 the neighbors to complain about his passionately loud rhythms. At the 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 in 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 A ticket and 1000 Marks in his pocket, and a plan to study Kendo and Judo (Martial Arts).

His professional music career in Japan began in 1979, when he formed a free jazz duo. SADATO-INO GROUP in Osaka. and ended with The Tehran-Dakar Brothers in Tokyo in In 2008, he decided to move to New York.

In between these years, he formed a couple of other bands. Among all those bands, his My 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 New York, 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 online 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 the state of 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 a 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, SoSaLa joined the Freelancers Union in 2016. In support of the Freelance Isn't Free Act, endorsed by MFM SoSaLa, gave testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Consumer Affairs In Relation to Establishing Protections for Freelance Workers.

And so, to the future…

From the beginning of 2016 to the present (2026), in addition to running MFM, SoSaLa continues to perform and record, both as leader of the SoSaLa band and as a solo artist.

More about Sohrab here: https://www.Sohrab.info More about MFM here: https://www.MusiciansForMusicians.org

Contact Me

Theme Song

My Jazz Story

I was born in Zurich (Switzerland) but raised in Hamburg (Germany). I was first exposed to jazz by a Gunther Hampel-Jeanne Lee concert at the America House in Hamburg around 1972. However, I fell in love with Jazz when I watched the Art Blacky-Ginger Baker drum battle duo on TV in 1973. At that time, I started playing the drums, and Ginger Baker was one of my idols on the instrument. I loved how they interpreted each other's statements and answered in kind. There was some cumbersome communication going on here. Too many drummers work on having great hands, which is important, but great hands mean nothing without great ears. Why is jazz cool? Firstly, jazz is the music of "the moment" because of the important role of improvisation in this musical style. Secondly, jazz is open to all kinds of music styles. Jazz musicians are eager to learn from other music styles and incorporate them into their compositions. Thirdly, jazz has always had a message. It's a social, political, and cultural force in our society.

My House Concert Story

I have been invited to a couple of house concerts in and outside of New York. I love house concerts because when you play there, you know people come to see you play, willing to pay a fair price and buy merch after the show. 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.