Anouar Brahem
Anouar Brahem (in Tunisian Arabic أنور براهم) (born on 20 October 1957) is a Tunisian oud player and composer. He is widely acclaimed as an innovator in his field.[1] Performing primarily for a jazz audience, he fuses Arab classical music, folk music and jazz and has been recording since at least 1991, after becoming prominent in his own country in the late 1980s.[2]
Biography
Brahem was born in Halfaouine in the Medina of Tunis, Tunisia. He studied oud at Tunisia's National Conservatory of Music.[2] In 1981, he left for Paris in search of new vistas. This enabled him to meet musicians from a variety of genres. He remained there as a composer for four years, notably for Tunisian cinema and theatre. He collaborated with Maurice Béjart for his ballet Thalassa Mare Nostrum and with Gabriel Yared as lutist for Costa Gavras’ film Hanna K..
After a period back in Tunisia in the late 1980s, when Brahem was appointed director of the Ensemble musical de la ville de Tunis, he toured in the USA and Canada and then signed with ECM Records[2] with whom he has recorded a series of critically acclaimed albums.[1][3] These include "Thimar", recorded with saxophonist John Surman and bassist Dave Holland[4][5]
In playing style, Anouar Brahem is often compared to Rabih Abou-Khalil. Most often he utilizes an ensemble of three or four musicians. He has collaborated throughout his career and on several albums with other musicians: Tunisian percussionist Lassad Hosni and violinist Bechir Selmi and Turkish clarinetist Barbaros Erköse.[6] He has also performed live concerts with these same ensembles.
Anouar released Blue Maqams in 2017 with a band that included Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland and Django Bates.[7]
Discography
Solo albums
Year | Album | Peak positions | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BEL (Fl) |
BEL (Wa) |
FRA [8] |
SWI | |||
1991 | Barzakh | with Lassad Hosni and Bechir Selmi | ||||
1992 | Conte de l'Incroyable Amour | with Barbaros Erköse | ||||
1994 | The Silences of the Palace | with Sonia Laraissi | ||||
1995 | Khomsa | with Richard Galliano, Bechir Selmi and François Couturier | ||||
1998 | Thimar | with John Surman and Dave Holland | ||||
2000 | Astrakan Café (as Anouar Brahem Trio) |
with Barbaros Erköse and Lassad Hosni | ||||
2002 | Le Pas du Chat Noir | 86 | with François Couturier and Jean-Louis Matinier | |||
2006 | Le Voyage de Sahar | 89 | 89 | with François Couturier and Jean-Louis Matinier | ||
2009 | The Astounding Eyes of Rita | 81 | 89 | 84 | with Klaus Gesing, Björn Meyer and Khaled Yassine | |
2014 | Souvenance | 43 | 75 | 64 | 82 | with Francois Couturier, Klaus Gesing and Björn Meyer |
2017 | Blue Maqams | 40 | 62 | 51 [9] |
23 | with Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland and Django Bates |
Compilations
- 2003 - Vague (Selection).
Collaborations
- 1994: Madar with Jan Garbarek and Ustad Shaukat Hussain.
- 2002: Charmediterranéen with Orchestre National de Jazz and Gianluigi Trovesi.
References
- Jurek, Thom. "Astrakan Café: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- Harris, Craig. "Anouar Brahem: Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- Fordham, John (2009-12-31). "Anouar Brahem: The Astounding Eyes of Rita". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- Fordham, John (1999-01-02). "Rhapsody in any colour you like". The Guardian. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- McKinney, Raymond. "Thimar: Review". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-12-11.
- "Biography ANOUAR BRAHEM" (PDF). beitalhikma.tn.
- https://www.ft.com/content/4ce35bbe-ac8e-11e7-beba-5521c713abf4
- "Anouar Brahim discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 42, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 24 October 2017.