|
Anouar
Brahem was born on October 20th, 1957 in Halfaouine, the
heart of the old city of Tunis.
Encouraged by his father, Brahem began at the age of ten his
initiation to music and the oud (Arab tute) and continued his
studies at the National Conservatory of Music in Tunis. At the
same time, he followed the tuition of the master Ali Sriti over a
period of ten years during which time he acquired an in depth
knowledge of classical Arab music. Little by little he broadened
his listening to include other musical expressions from around
the Mediterranean, Iran and India... then jazz.
In a
musical environment largely dominated by variety Songs where the
oud is confined to the rote of accompaniment, the name Anouar
Brahem has remained intimately bound to instrumental music. From
the very beginning, while devoting himself to composition, he was
moved by the urge to return the oud to its preeminent Status as
the preferred instrument of Arab music and to give instrumental
music concerts as a soloist.
In
1981 he left for Paris and this cosmopolitan city enabled him to
meet musicians from a great variety of backgrounds. He remained
for four years during which time he performed in several
festivals and collaborated in particular with the choreographer,
Maurice Béjart. A return to Carthage provided him with
the opportunity of bringing together, for "Liqua 85",
outstanding figures of Tunisian and Turkish music and French jazz
such as, Abdelwaheb Berbeche, the Erköse brothers, François
Jeanneau, François Couturier and Jean Paul Céléa. This
instrumental creation earned him the National Award of Excellence
in Music.
In
1987 he returned to Tunis and was entrusted the directorship of
the Ensemble Musical de In Ville de Tunis. As director, he signed
several creations, including "Ennaoura el achiqua",
which resulted from his meeting with Tunisian poet Ali Louati and
which brought him a true national consecration.
There followed the fruitful collaboration started in 1990 with
Manfred Eicher, the producer and founder of the German label ECM
Records, the four albums recorded were very well received by the
international press and the public, the meeting with names such
as Jan Garbarek, Richard Galliano, Palle Danielsson, Jon
Christensen or Manu Katche, and a career which lead him to
perform on many stages of the wand: Washington Square Church (New
York), New Orleans Jazz Festival (USA), Frankfurt International
Jazz Festival (Germany), Lumine Hall-Tokyo (Japan), Royal Academy
of Music-Londres (G.B), Zurich International Jazz Festival
(Switzerland), Uméa Jazz Festival (Sweden), Theatre de Beyrouth
(Lebanon)... In January 1995 he was invited to take part in the
inaugural concerts of the brand new Cité de la Musique in Paris.
Anouar
Brahem has composed the musical sound-tracks for a number of
theatre productions, ballets and films, induding "Sabots en
Or" and "Bezness" by Nouri Bouzid,
"Halfaouine" by Férid Boughedir and "Les Silences
du Palais" by Mounida Tlatli. The huge success of
"Ritek Ma Nareef Ouin" sung by the Tunisian singer,
Lotfi Bouchnak, also revealed an unexpected talent as a composer
for popular songs.
"He is the best lutist in Tunisia" claims Ali
Sriti of Anouar. "...he has at his disposal the carress
and the touch of the chords; he alone knows the secret."
Biography courtesy of Uli Fild Concertbüro
|
