Dhafer Youssef ظافر يوسف |
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 Dhafer Youssef, Oslo Jazzfestival 2015 |
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| Birth name | Dhafer bin Youssef bin Tahar Maarref |
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| Born | (1967-11-19) 19 November 1967 (age 56)
Teboulba, Tunisia |
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| Origin |  Tunisia |
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| Genres | Ethno jazz, world fusion, Sufi, qawwali, jazz fusion, new-age, jazztronica |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer |
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| Instrument(s) | Oud, vocals |
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| Years active | 1990–present |
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| Labels | Enja, Justin Time, Jazzland, EmArcy, Okeh |
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| Website | www.dhaferyoussef.com |
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Musical artist
Dhafer Youssef (Arabic: ظافر يوسف; born 19 November 1967) is a Tunisian composer, singer and oud player.
Biography
Dhafer Youssef was born in Téboulba (a small village of coastal Tunisia); his grandfather was a muezzin. He calls the radio "the most important school" for him.[1] He developed an interest in jazz at an early age and clandestinely listened to it during his education at a Qur'anic school.[2] He later left Tunisia to start a jazz career and has lived in Europe since 1990, usually in Paris or Vienna. He also works in avant-garde and world music where he has been nominated for awards.[3] He has released six albums of his own and created notable work with Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu and the Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset. He has an affinity for the music of India and Nordic music. He was a guest artist on the Norwegian jazz artist Bugge Wesseltoft's album FiLM iNG. Youssef has performed with Ustad Zakir Hussain, Jon Hassell, Uri Caine, Tigran Hamasyan, Markus Stockhausen,[4] Nguyên Lê, Omar Sosa and Hüsnü Şenlendirici. Youssef is one of the ambassadors to Music Traveler, together with Billy Joel, Hans Zimmer, John Malkovich, Sean Lennon, Adrien Brody and more. In 2001, he recorded Electric Sufi with the ex-Sugar Hill Gang and Tackhead rhythm section of Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish.
In 2015, Youssef opened the Sligo Jazz project with a quartet act at the Hawk's Well Theatre at Connacht, Ireland.[1]
Youssef released Diwan of Beauty and Odd in 2016 which won quite a bit of praise from critics.[5]
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