A very mixed up beginning:Azhaar Saffar was born and brought up in North Wales, to an Iraqi father and a Welsh/Scottish mother. She started ballet aged 6 and spent the rest of her time, dressing up, reading Shakespeare, watching Holywood musicals and listening to Tchaikovsky! She also nursed ambitons to be a singer like Petula Clarke?, but more than anything she desperately wanted to learn the piano or violin. Eventually she was given a glockenspiel and taught herself to read music with the aid of the 'Fireside book of folk songs'. Then she finally got her hands on a violin -heaven to her ears only! - and enjoyed annoying her family by practicing a lot!

Musical Education:Azhaar trained as a classical violinist at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. She also studied singing there, as the opera students needed some guinea pigs. On leaving college her first job was singing and playing jazz violin in a 1930's show called "The clouds will soon roll by". She then joined a very successful fringe theatre group in Manchester; as well as singing, playing the violin and writing the music, she also had to learn to act, tap dance, make silk screens and administrate!

Losing the Way:Azhaar moved to London and got heavily involved in singing and songwriting. She swapped her violin for a guitar and didn't pick it up again for 6 years! With her partner Joe Cavanagh, she got a publishing and production deal with Barry Blue in his studios in Camden, for the songs they had written and recorded . They were offered several record deals but things didn't pan out so she packed her bags and moved to L.A. where she performed regulary with groups in between working as a cocktail waitress in mafia-owned establishments. She was offered a publishing deal with A & M music, yet, somehow, through the twists and turns of fate and the bizarre nature of the music business, none of these deals ever materialized. This had something to do with music biz. lawyers. Anyway, she managed to escape from the city of the angels ,accompnaied by her partner Joe on route 66!

Return of the fiddle:: Knowing of her concert violinist past, a mysterious stranger appeared at one of her gigs in a London pub, thrust a violin in her hand and whisked her off to Amsterdam to play on the Dutch pop programme Countdown for pop sensation "Bomb the bass". The fiddle had come back, (like a long lost friend )and she found a new freedom playing Celtic music , Egyptian music and funk!

On the road: She moved to Brighton and in 1993, with Joe, formed the acid jazz band Wildflower as a singer, violinist and co-writer. This culminated in a French record deal and extensive tours of France, Switzerland, Germany, Holland , Belgium and Italy. But all good things come to an end and eventually the band split up, the"indestructible" tour bus broke and all their instruments got stolen! But all was not lost! Through the influence of a large Brazilian community in Switzerland, the group spent most of their time playing bossa nova and samba . When you've lost everything you learn to value the things that really mean something and on returning to Britain she relocated to the West country and devoted herself to the music she actually loved. she formed, a jazz band called Sirius and also played regularly with the Bath Philharmonic orchestra, in time for their Wigmore Hall debut.

Go west and follow the drums: When the bossa nova bites you it never lets go! It wasn't long before the Brazilian Jazz band, Sirius B emerged from the songwriting team of Azhaar and Joe, Paul Downes on drums (from Wildflower) and a wonderful fusion of jazz musicians and sambaistas. The band really took off after their debut appearance at London's Jazz cafe. It was a world cup year and Brazilian music was hot. Soon after they were offered a record deal in the U.K. and then in Japan. A lot of time was spent in Brazil, researching and being immersed in this music. They have produced and released 5 albums, been played on the airwaves worldwide, reached number 1 in Japan’s world music chart and played jazz festivals all over Europe.

It don't mean a thing if it aint got that swing: As well as enjoying continued success with Sirius B, Azhaar leads her own jazz quartet, with the violin taking a lead role, as well as singing and composing a lot of the music. They have just recorded their debut album, "Out There" which features stunning guest apearances from Jason Rebello, Iain Ballamy, Mike Mower and Mike Peake,( all part of the "extra-London" scene!) The album also features Dave Goodyer on bass, Scott Hammond on drums and Joe Cavanagh on keyboards. When not doing this she is playing with the Primavera string quartet and an Arabic group, the Babylonia ensemble! This leaves a small amount of time in the day for her hobbies, tennis, bodyboarding and kung fu!
Next stop: Most recently she is currently working on the concept for a show: a jazz dance ballet called "Footprints" which she feels is a culmination of her many talents.

Trying to earn a living: Azhaar teaches singing, violin and ensemble playing. She has taught on the b-tec popular music course at City of Bath College and Chippenham College and has taught workshops and singing classes for large groups. She presently teaches jazz at the Jazz Factory in Bradford on Avon as well as private tuition.