Wikipedia
Balaban may refer to:
Balaban (also Ballaban, Ballabon) is a surname, from a Turkic word meaning "robust", "burly", or a Ukrainian word meaning "hawk". Notable people with the surname include:
- Alexandru Balaban (1931-), Romanian chemist
- Alper Balaban (1987-2010), Turkish footballer
- A. J. Balaban, (1889-1962), co-founder of Balaban and Katz
- Barney Balaban, (1887-1971), co-founder of Balaban and Katz
- Bob Balaban (1945-), American actor and director (related to the founders of Balaban and Katz)
- Boško Balaban (1978-), Croatian footballer
- İbrahim Balaban (born 1921), Turkish painter
- John Balaban, American poet and translator
- Liane Balaban (1980-), Canadian actress
- Meir Balaban (1874-1941), Polish Jewish historian
- Nina Balaban (1995-), Macedonian sports shooter
- Jan Balabán, Czech writer
Balaban, or balaman is cylindrical-bore, double- reed wind instrument about long with seven finger holes and one thumb hole. This instrument is played in Iranian Azerbaijan and in the Republic of Azerbaijan. In Turkey it is called mey.
Balaban can be made of mulberry or other harder woods, such as walnut. The bore through the instrument is about in diameter. The double reed is made out of a single tube of cane about six cm long and pressed flat at one end. The performer uses air stored in his cheeks to keep playing the balaban while he inhales air into his lungs. This “circular” breathing technique is commonly used with all the double-reed instruments in the Middle East.