Biography
Jamshied Sharifi fuses global sounds through his work as a pianist, synthesizer performer, composer, and music director. Although his earliest efforts centered on American jazz, he later wove in strands of Middle Eastern and African traditions alongside jazz elements. Beyond his own projects, he arranged and produced recordings for artists from Japan and Korea, including the 1988 release Bushes and Briars by Susan McKeown and Akira Satake, and he contributed to four albums by the world-fusion ensemble Mo Bama. His solo effort A Prayer for the Soul of Layla earned the Best Contemporary World Music Album honor at the inaugural New Age Voice Music Awards.
Born in Kansas City, Sharifi drew early inspiration from the local jazz community and from the Middle Eastern repertoire performed by his father. Following his humanities degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he refined his technique at Boston’s Berklee School of Music, concentrating on jazz piano and composition. In 1983 he received the Outstanding Jazz Pianist award at the Collegiate Jazz Festival held at the University of Notre Dame; from 1985 through 1992 he led the Festival Jazz Ensemble, which was recognized as Outstanding Jazz Band in 1991 under his tenure.
Sharifi has concentrated considerable energy on motion-picture scores. For seven years he performed on keyboards and crafted orchestrations for soundtrack composer and Berklee College of Music faculty member Mike Gibbs; he later composed and produced the music for Rugrats, Muppets From Space, and Harriet the Spy, with orchestrations on the latter supplied by his wife, Miyuki Sakamoto.
Born in Kansas City, Sharifi drew early inspiration from the local jazz community and from the Middle Eastern repertoire performed by his father. Following his humanities degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he refined his technique at Boston’s Berklee School of Music, concentrating on jazz piano and composition. In 1983 he received the Outstanding Jazz Pianist award at the Collegiate Jazz Festival held at the University of Notre Dame; from 1985 through 1992 he led the Festival Jazz Ensemble, which was recognized as Outstanding Jazz Band in 1991 under his tenure.
Sharifi has concentrated considerable energy on motion-picture scores. For seven years he performed on keyboards and crafted orchestrations for soundtrack composer and Berklee College of Music faculty member Mike Gibbs; he later composed and produced the music for Rugrats, Muppets From Space, and Harriet the Spy, with orchestrations on the latter supplied by his wife, Miyuki Sakamoto.
Albums
Singles
