Tarek Yamani’s Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic

Tarek Yamani’s critically acclaimed album “Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic” is an exploration of classical Arabic music within the frameworks of African-American jazz. The result, a genre often dubbed as “Afro-Tarab” is jazz piano trio performance which will take the audience on a journey from late 1800’s Egypt and Iraq to contemporary New York. The repertoire will include reinterpretations of classical “muwashahat” (an old Arabic musical form), traditional music from Mesopotamia as well as original jazz compositions based on rhythms and modes from the Levant.

Born and raised in Beirut, Tarek is an American-Lebanese New York based award winning composer and a self-taught jazz pianist who got exposed to jazz around the age of 19.

In 2010, Tarek won the “Thelonious Monk Int’l Jazz Composer’s Competition” for his composition “Sama’i Yamani” featuring Syrian singer Rasha Rizk.

Since the release of his debut “Ashur” in 2012, Tarek has been dedicated to exploring relationships between African-American Jazz and Arabic rhythms/maqams which are most evident in his second album “Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic”.

In 2016, Tarek was commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation to write new work based on the rhythms of the Arabian Gulf. The new work entitled “Peninsular” was released in March 2017 and had it’s world premiere at the Abu Dhabi Festival ’17.

Tarek has been fortunate to share the stage with luminaries such as Wayne Shorter, Richard Bona, Zakir Hussein, Esperanza Spalding, Antonio Sanchez and Vinnie Coliauta and has performed in prestigious venues such as the United Nations Assemble Hall (NYC, inaugural of the International Jazz Day), Gran Teatro de la Habana (Cuba, Jazz Day), the Smithsonian Institute (Washington, DC), MuCEM museum (Marseille), NYU (Abu Dhabi Festival), the Blue Whale (Los Angeles), the Detroit Institute of Arts, and Sunset Sunside (Paris) to name just a few.

He recently scored the music of “I SAY DUST”, a film by Darine Hotait which screened in 70+ festivals around the world and broadcasted on AMC networks, BBC and Sundance TV.

As an educator, Tarek has self-published an eBook about mastering polyrhythms entitled “Duple vs Triple” and will soon publish “The Percussion Ensemble of the Arabian Peninsula”.