Souren Baronian

A multi-talented master musicia0n, Souren Baronian performs on G Clarinet, soprano and baritone sax, duduk, ney and percussion instruments. He grew up in Harlem, the son of Armenian refugees. He shined shoes as a kid and hung out at jazz clubs on 52nd Street where he heard Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and other masters of the day. In particular, he was influenced by tenor saxophone giant ‘Prez” Lester Young. He studied with the legendary Bebop pianist Lennie Tristano. At the same time, he developed a keen interest in Middle Eastern music. He took lessons from the Turkish clarinet virtuoso Safet Gundeger. He was a founding member of the legendary Nor-Ike ensemble in New York in 1950. In the mid-1970s he formed Taksim, the pioneering jazz and Middle Eastern fusion band. He is equally at home in a number of idioms. Souren Baronian is the cousin of Alternative Radio’s David Barsamian.