Anouar Brahem
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A Tunisian master of the oud, Anouar Brahem has a dialogue between Arabic and jazz modes in a work celebrated all over the world.
Anouar Brahem, born on 20 October 1957 in Tunis, in the Halfaouine district, studied the oud at the Conservatoire national de musique de Tunis with master Ali Sriti. In 1981, he moved to Paris, composed for Tunisian cinema and theatre, and collaborated with Maurice Béjart and Gabriel Yared.
In the late 1980s, he directed the Tunis City Musical Ensemble, shot in the United States and Canada, and then signed with ECM Records. His albums for Manfred Eicher's label — "Thimar" with John Surman and Dave Holland, "Le Pas du Chat Noir", "The Astoning Eyes of Rita", "Blue Maqams" — were hailed by international critics.
His sleek play and compositions inspired by Arabic poetry, including Mahmoud Darwish, redefined the oud's place in contemporary jazz. In 2025, he published with ECM "After the Last Sky", with Dave Holland, Django Bates and Anja Lechner, and presented it on European tour.