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Anouar Brahem was born on October 1957, in Halfaouine, in the center of Tunis' Medina.
Positively supported by his father, he starts introduction to music and especially to lute at the age of 10.
He studies then in the Tunis National Music Conservatory.
In the meantime, he is tought during 10 years by the great Master Ali Sitri, and gets through him a deep knowledge of traditional arabian music.
Step by step, his curiosity pushes him to listen to other musical expressions: mediteranean musics, Iran, India, and Jazz.
His musical surroudings are basically and widely dominated by popular songs in which lute has only a side instrument place.
Thus, Anouar Brahem's name is tightly attached to instrumental music more than popular songs: from the beginning, he considers that lute is a quite important instrument within arabian music, and he wants to give lute his nobel place within the musical context. For this reason and because he feels passionated by his instrument, he started performing solo concerts very soon.
In 1981, he decides to go to Paris, cosmopolitan city above all. He meets there plenty of musicians coming from very different horizons, and different countries and cultures.
He remained there for several years, playing lute solo concerts in festivals, and collaborating with many artits such as choreographer Maurice Béjart.
Back to Carthage, he creates Liqua 85. For this, he brings together some tunisian, turkish and french jazz essentiel musicians: Abdelwaheb Berbeche, Erköse brothers, François Jeanneau, Jean-Paul Céléa...
Liqua 85, received the Great National Award of Music in France.
In 1987, he goes back to Tunis, and accepts the leadership of the Musical Ensemble of the City of Tunis, for which he will compose several pieces among them Ennaouara el Achiqua, born from a meeting between him and the poet Ali Louati. Those compositions bring him to the step of uncontested great national composer in Tunisia.
Then follow rich and positive collaborations, very important to his carreer:
- Manfred Eicher, german producer ECM Records, for whom he records 4 albums: Barzach, Conte de l'Incroyable Amour, Madar, Khomsa.
Those albums receive an incredible welcome by the audience, and the international press.
- musicians Jan Garbarek, Richard Galliano, Manu Katché...
He is now mentionned among the greatest musicians on the international scene, and plays concerts all over the world, on the most prestigious places: Washington Square Chruch in New-York, New-Orleans Jazz Festival (USA), Frankfurt International Jazz Festival (Germany), Lumine Hall in Tokyo (Japan), Royal Academy of Music in London (GB), Zürich International Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Uméa Jazz Festival (Sweden), Theater of Beyrouth (Liban)...
On January 1995, he is invited for an inaugural conert of the quite new Cité de la Musique in Paris.
Anouar Brahem composed lots of original musics for movies and theater pieces: Nouri Bouzid's Sabots en Or and Bezness, Ferid Boughedir's "Halfaouine", and Moufida Tlati's Les Silences du Palais.
The hudge success of Ritek Ma Naaref Ouin, interpreted by the tunisian singer Lotfi Bouchnak, makes us discover an unexpected talent of Anouar Brahem as a popular songs composer.
" He is the best lute player in Tunisia" his Master Ali Sriti says about him, " his fingering and playing the strings are unique and his own secret."
© 1997 Mcub fecit
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