Anouar Brahem
“We are all tributaries of the inspiration of the moment and that goes for all musicians… It’s the magic of the moment that counts along with the preparation. It’s all a question of collective inspiration.”
Anouar Brahem, born in Tunis in 1957, was ten when he began studying the oud at the National Conservatory in the city, and later pursued his apprenticeship with the great master Ali Sriti. As Stéphane Ollivier has written: “Brahem is the oud’s conjuror, a master at bringing out the acoustic magic which this age-old traditional Oriental lute carries inside its calabash: the musical heritage of the Arab and Islamic worlds.” Brahem undertook a mission to restore the oud to the status of an emblematic solo instrument in Arab music, and at the same time expanded the tradition by working with musicians from other idioms.
[...]“We are all tributaries of the inspiration of the moment and that goes for all musicians… It’s the magic of the moment that counts along with the preparation. It’s all a question of collective inspiration.”
Anouar Brahem, born in Tunis in 1957, was ten when he began studying the oud at the National Conservatory in the city, and later pursued his apprenticeship with the great master Ali Sriti. As Stéphane Ollivier has written: “Brahem is the oud’s conjuror, a master at bringing out the acoustic magic which this age-old traditional Oriental lute carries inside its calabash: the musical heritage of the Arab and Islamic worlds.” Brahem undertook a mission to restore the oud to the status of an emblematic solo instrument in Arab music, and at the same time expanded the tradition by working with musicians from other idioms.
In 1981 Brahem moved to Paris for four years, where he collaborated with Maurice Béjart and composed numerous original works, notably for Tunisian films and theatre. On his return to Tunisia in 1985, he spent five years composing and giving the concerts which established his reputation. Brahem’s relationship with ECM dates from 1989, since when he has recorded ten albums. Barzakh was the beginning of a highly fruitful association, which has seen Brahem collaborate with some of the world's most talented musicians, whatever the genre or tradition, including Barbaros Erköse, Jan Garbarek, Dave Holland, John Surman and Richard Galliano. His discography includes Conte de L'Incroyable Amour (1991), Madar (1994), Khomsa (1995), Thimar (1998), Astrakan Café (2000), Le Pas Du Chat Noir (2001), Le Voyage De Sahar (2006), The Astounding Eyes Of Rita (2009).
The music of Souvenance (Remembrance, 2014) was written in the wake of political upheavals of the Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia. The album, by turns graceful, hypnotic, austere and starkly dramatic, is an oblique rather than direct engagement with those tumultuous events: “these events may have touched something deep within me which spoke. It wasn’t conscious, nor was it a desire to write something about this subject… When I write, I try to react with the emotions of the moment; it’s very personal”. Released on the occasion of Anouar Brahem’s 60th birthday, Blue Maqams (2017) brought the Tunisian oud master together with three brilliant improvisers: Dave Holland (a reunion, 20 years after the very widely-acclaimed Thimar album), Jack DeJohnette (the frequent collaborator of Holland, i.a. with the ground-breaking work with Miles Davis) and British pianist Django Bates. “A real meeting of hearts and minds” (The Guardian)
Eight years after Blue Maqams, Anouar Brahem returns with a poignant project, titled after a line of verse by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, which asks “Where should the birds fly, after the last sky?” Graceful chamber pieces for oud, cello, piano and bass subtly address the metaphysical question and its broad resonances in a troubled time on After The Last Sky. Bassist Dave Holland and pianist Django Bates are again part of the Tunisian oud master’s international quartet, joined now by cellist Anja Lechner. The album marks the first time that Anouar has included a cellist in his group music and the cellist, a leading voice throughout, is given the first and last statements here.
Read moreRead less
| YEAR | DATE | Artist | VENUE | LOCATION | |
| 2026 | May 21 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Dave Holland, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
Auditório Ibirapuera | São Paolo, Brazil | |
| 2026 | July 02 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
Casa del Jazz | Rome, Italy | Event |
| 2026 | July 11 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
North Sea Jazz Festival | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Event |
| 2026 | July 15 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
tba | Bratislava, Slovakia | |
| 2026 | July 18 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
Festival International De Música | Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal | |
| 2026 | July 19 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
Festival International De Música | Porto, Portugal | |
| 2026 | September 08 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
tba | Split, Croatia | |
| 2026 | September 11 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
Festival Arabesques | Montpellier, France | |
| 2026 | October 07 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
La Seine Musicale | Paris, France | |
| 2026 | October 08 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
Flagey | Brussels, Belgium | |
| 2026 | October 10 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
Opera | Dijon, France | |
| 2026 | November 15 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
EFG London Jazz Festival | London, United Kingdom | |
| 2027 | January 22 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
tba | Aix en Provence, France | |
| 2027 | February 05 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
Philharmonie | Luxembourg, Luxembourg | |
| 2027 | February 13 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
tba | Anvers, Belgium | |
| 2027 | February 24 |
Anouar Brahem Quartet w/ Django Bates, Mats Eilertsen, Anja Lechner
"After The Last Sky" |
Winterjazz | Copenhagen, Denmark |