In your days as a student, did you ever find yourself interested in things that weren’t included in the syllabus? When it comes to music, many students find themselves branching off from the plan, and thank goodness. Hey there – I’m Loki Karuna, and on this edition of Noteworthy I’d like to share with you how one student turned a simple curiosity into an entire career – the one and only Anouar Brahem.
Anouar hails from Tunisia, and got his official start as a student at Tunisia’s National Conservatory of Music where his studied an instrument called the oud. Curious about other styles of instrumental music, Anouar left his home country for Paris after graduating, where he found himself mixed in with musicians of varying genres, including classical, folk, and even jazz. From there, he blended what he learned both in and outside of the classroom to create a unique mix of sounds that have defined his career, including this musical fusion of aesthetics – a work here that he called Nuba.
Since establishing himself in the category of musical fusion, Anouar Brahem has played a key role in broader engagement of the oud, which today, is an instrument included in world jazz to a far greater degree than it once was. Anouar’s wish to reach beyond tradition hasn’t just served him, but an entire genre of music, earning him a spot among the world’s most noteworthy.
Noteworthy is a production of WDAV classical public radio.
Pictured: Anouar Brahem by Adel Brahem – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.