[wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Dhafer Youssef[/wimpLink] is a Tunisian oud master, vocalist, and composer. Considered a gift to modern jazz by many critics, his restless creativity actively pursues a union of Eastern and Western musical traditions with a complex architectural approach to composition and improvisation. His boundary-blurring music weds modern jazz to the rhythms and modes of North Africa, the classical music of Pakistan and India, electronics, and deep, soulful Mediterranean grooves. 1998's [wimpLink albumId="250137291"]Malak[/wimpLink] combined Middle Eastern harmony to vanguard jazz. 2001's [wimpLink albumId="250137553"]Electric Sufi[/wimpLink] and 2003's [wimpLink albumId="250137577"]Digital Prophecy[/wimpLink] explored the nexus of classical North African and Indian harmony with pointillistic jazz improvisation and electronics. 2010's acoustic Abu Nawas' Rhapsody featured pianist [wimpLink artistId="3561488"]Tigran Hamasyan[/wimpLink] and was a tribute to the Persian poet. 2013's [wimpLink albumId="296952129"]Birds Requiem[/wimpLink] was deeply influenced by [wimpLink artistId="16695"]Jon Hassell[/wimpLink]'s Fourth World music, and 2016's [wimpLink albumId="64498671"]Diwan of Beauty and Odd[/wimpLink] showcased an American band playing almost traditional melodies, while 2018's soundscape-esque [wimpLink albumId="250137617"]Sounds of Mirrors[/wimpLink] featured percussionist [wimpLink artistId="3961349"]Zakir Hussain[/wimpLink]. Street of Minarets appeared in 2023 and was performed by a studio cast that included [wimpLink artistId="209"]Herbie Hancock[/wimpLink].
[wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] was born in 1967 in the small fishing village of Teboulba, Tunisia. His modest family heritage included a long line of muezzins. At age five, his grandfather initiated him to Qur'anic recitals, where [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] discovered his own vocal potential. He has said that the most important school for him was the radio, as he sang along to songs in his mother’s kitchen, his first sound laboratory. He also developed an obsession with jazz from the radio at an early age.
A local muzzein heard him sing and encouraged him to carry out the morning call to prayer from the minaret of the local mosque. A few years later, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] joined the local liturgical song troupe as a vocalist. Aside from places of worship, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] discovered a new toy at the youth center of Teboulba: The oud, a lute-like stringed instrument; at the same time, he discovered the sound of the electric bass and its power to generate grooves. He learned to play the oud and the bass would profoundly influence his musical approach. [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] became a double threat as a singer and oudist. He was selected to join the official folk arts ensemble the Tunisian National Troupe by its founder Mesbah Souli.
After high school, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] left home for Tunis and studied at the musical conservatory at Nahj Zarkoun. Dissatisfied with the instructors and teaching methods, he left the city for Vienna, Austria to complete his musical training. For a young man from such a small village, his early music was surprisingly international, combining Sufi tradition, world folk, and mystical spiritual traditions with jazz, Arabic lyricism, and East Indian modalism.
In 1998, Enja Records signed [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] to a contract. [wimpLink albumId="250137291"]Malak[/wimpLink], his label debut, showcased his vocals and oud in original compositions combining European jazz harmony and organic Mediterranean grooves. [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink]'s band on the date included trumpeter [wimpLink artistId="3512299"]Markus Stockhausen[/wimpLink], violinist [wimpLink artistId="9739195"]Zoltan Lantos[/wimpLink], bassist [wimpLink artistId="4968237"]Achim Tang[/wimpLink], tabla and dolak player [wimpLink artistId="5977634"]Jatinder Thakur[/wimpLink], tambourine player [wimpLink artistId="7392520"]Carlo Rizzo[/wimpLink], bassist [wimpLink artistId="3526987"]Renaud Garcia-Fons[/wimpLink], and drummer [wimpLink artistId="6682310"]Patrice Héral[/wimpLink]. The album won notice from jazz publications on the European continent and [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink]'s ensemble toured Europe.
His sophomore Enja album, 2002's [wimpLink albumId="250137553"]Electric Sufi[/wimpLink], featured the oudist with [wimpLink artistId="3512299"]Stockhausen[/wimpLink], jazz guitarist [wimpLink artistId="3561286"]Wolfgang Muthspiel[/wimpLink], bansuri flutist [wimpLink artistId="4103875"]Deepak Ram[/wimpLink], bassist [wimpLink artistId="3663154"]Dieter Ilg[/wimpLink], percussionist [wimpLink artistId="3674541"]Mino Cinelu[/wimpLink], electronicist Roderick Packe, drummer [wimpLink artistId="3528929"]Will Calhoun[/wimpLink], and electric bassist [wimpLink artistId="3532327"]Doug Wimbish[/wimpLink]. In addition to treating the instrumentation electronically, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] utilized his voice as a distinctive instrument. He followed a year later with [wimpLink albumId="250137577"]Digital Prophecy[/wimpLink], a radical expansion of the sonic and musical experiments begun on [wimpLink albumId="250137553"]Electric Sufi[/wimpLink]. He was backed by an all-star outfit that included [wimpLink artistId="3663154"]Ilg[/wimpLink], keyboardist [wimpLink artistId="30367"]Bugge Wesseltoft[/wimpLink], guitarist/electronicist [wimpLink artistId="30366"]Eivind Aarset[/wimpLink], and multi-instrumentalist/electronicist [wimpLink artistId="4047785"]Jan Bang[/wimpLink], among others. Its music wed electronically treated ethnic fusion to modern jazz and spacy pop.
In 2005 he joined saxophonist/flutist [wimpLink artistId="15662"]Wolfgang Puschnig[/wimpLink] and Indian tabla and percussion virtuoso [wimpLink artistId="5977634"]Jatinder Thakur[/wimpLink] for the acclaimed Odem album on EmArcy. The oudist shifted gears for 2006's [wimpLink albumId="250137715"]Divine Shadows[/wimpLink], released by Norway's Jazzland label. The sound is resolutely thrilling without losing its ethereal quality, and while he didn't abandon electronics on the album, he wove them into an electro-acoustic mix that also included the [wimpLink artistId="4108223"]Oslo Session String Quartet[/wimpLink], fellow sonic experimenter [wimpLink artistId="21074"]Arve Henriksen[/wimpLink] on trumpet, percussionist [wimpLink artistId="3526924"]Marilyn Mazur[/wimpLink], and electronic beats courtesy of [wimpLink artistId="30366"]Aarset[/wimpLink]'s production, sampling, and programming. The set won critical attention globally, but in particular resonated with DJs including [wimpLink artistId="3654512"]Gilles Peterson[/wimpLink]. The album was nominated at the BBC Awards for World Music.
Over the next couple of years, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] toured on his own and as a sideman, and did session work. He appeared with Polish jazz vocalist [wimpLink artistId="3504252"]Ana Maria Jopek[/wimpLink] on [wimpLink albumId="1617208"]ID[/wimpLink] and Jo & Co, and with [wimpLink artistId="8185"]Fresu[/wimpLink] on Le Fresiadi and Latitudini: Omaggio Alla World Music. In 2010, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] issued Abau Nawas Rhapsody on EmArcy. Inspired by the 13th century Persian poet and philosopher, the set's music made a conscious effort to erase the duality between the sacred and profane. His cast on the date included pianist-composer [wimpLink artistId="3561488"]Tigran Hamasyan[/wimpLink], drummer Mark Giuliana, and double bassist Chris Jennings. The music wed post-bop jazz, ensemble improvisation, and Tunisian classical music. The band played the European jazz festival circuit. In 2012, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] appeared as a featured soloist on [wimpLink artistId="120"]James Horner[/wimpLink]'s score and soundtrack for the motion picture [wimpLink albumId="35075500"]Black Gold[/wimpLink].
[wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] signed with Sony's revamped Okeh imprint for 2013's [wimpLink albumId="296952129"]Birds Requiem[/wimpLink]. Composed and recorded as a film score, it is the oudist's most personal and intimate album. His session players included [wimpLink artistId="30366"]Aarset[/wimpLink] on guitar, clarinetist [wimpLink artistId="4076316"]Hüsnü Şenlendirici[/wimpLink], Aytaç Doğan on kanun, trumpeter [wimpLink artistId="21337"]Nils Petter Molvaer[/wimpLink], pianist [wimpLink artistId="4111412"]Kristjan Randalu[/wimpLink], bassist [wimpLink artistId="7440634"]Phil Donkin[/wimpLink], and drummer [wimpLink artistId="11645383"]Chander Sardjoe[/wimpLink]. The album proved as much a vehicle for [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink]'s singing as his playing, showcasing the emotional and spiritual depth in his falsetto, and it sold more than 100,000 copies. Downbeat chose it as one of its year's ten best albums and [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] as one of its 20 best male vocalists.
2016's [wimpLink albumId="64498671"]Diwan of Beauty and Odd[/wimpLink] was recorded in New York City with a top-flight session group. The studio players included pianist [wimpLink artistId="3542950"]Aaron Parks[/wimpLink], trumpeter [wimpLink artistId="3952418"]Ambrose Akinmusire[/wimpLink], bassist [wimpLink artistId="3544034"]Ben Williams[/wimpLink], and Giuliana on drums. Across 11 tracks, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] and his collaborators fused urban grooves with traditional North African musics. [wimpLink albumId="64498671"]Diwan of Beauty and Odd[/wimpLink]'s theme is the exploration of dualities from the sacred and profane, the beautiful and strange, and the subtle and explicit. His extraordinary ability to transcend genres and the limits of simple meters offered an asymmetrical quality to the proceedings. The following year he appeared on [wimpLink artistId="3720997"]Iaian Ballamy[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="6415619"]Michael McKean[/wimpLink]'s score and soundtrack for the film Luna.
Following a world tour, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] returned to the studio and issued [wimpLink albumId="250137617"]Sounds of Mirrors[/wimpLink] for Back Beat Editions. Joining Middle Eastern traditions with South-West Asian classical music modes while utilizing many subsequent historical and modern rhythmic approaches, it was composed in tribute to tabla and percussion master [wimpLink artistId="3961349"]Zakir Hussain[/wimpLink], who appears throughout, as well as Turkish clarinetist [wimpLink artistId="4076316"]Hüsnü Şenlendirici[/wimpLink]'s microtonal lyricism. [wimpLink artistId="30366"]Aarset[/wimpLink] is featured on lead and rhythm guitar. Here, as on [wimpLink albumId="296952129"]Birds Requiem[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink]'s vocals are the centerpiece of the driving and spacious works. This same band undertook a 14-month world tour.
During the global lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, [wimpLink artistId="3527034"]Youssef[/wimpLink] kept a very low profile but stayed busy. He recorded an album, but the sessions proved disappointing and he shelved the project. The music wouldn't shelve him, however. It took another two years for his compositions to truly reveal themselves. He tried again and recruited an illustrious session cast, which included several old friends, like bansuri flutist [wimpLink artistId="4025493"]Rakesh Chaurasia[/wimpLink], guitarist [wimpLink artistId="3570765"]Lê[/wimpLink], and trumpeter [wimpLink artistId="3952418"]Akinmusire[/wimpLink], and many new ones such as keyboardist [wimpLink artistId="209"]Herbie Hancock[/wimpLink], bassists [wimpLink artistId="3676738"]Dave Holland[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3552389"]Marcus Miller[/wimpLink], drummer [wimpLink artistId="3698092"]Vinnie Colaiuta[/wimpLink], and percussionist Adriano Dos Santos. ~ Thom Jurek