“From inverting the keyboard keys to questioning the sound of a rectangle to combining poetry and numerology with jazz, Tarek Yamani maneuvers his creative process in many atypical ways.” - BAC Stories.
Born and raised in Beirut, Tarek is a pianist, composer, producer, and educator who is constantly stretching the edges between Jazz, Arabic music and Electronica.
After a brief encounter with classical piano lessons as a child, Tarek's dissatisfaction with the classical music system turned him into a true teenage metalhead where he taught himself the guitar and spent years deep into the world of metal.
Around the age of 19 - shortly after finding himself co-producing and performing with the iconic Arabic hiphop band Aksser - jazz appears in the form of a revelation showing him with absolute clarity that this is the kind of musical expression he's been looking for all along. Not being able to find a mentor, he goes on to teach himself jazz piano via records and later on, the Jazz Piano Book, the only book that was accessible to him at the time.
Around the age of 19 - shortly after finding himself co-producing and performing with the iconic Arabic hiphop band Aksser - jazz appears in the form of a revelation showing him with absolute clarity that this is the kind of musical expression he's been looking for all along. Not being able to find a mentor, he goes on to teach himself jazz piano via records and later on, the Jazz Piano Book, the only book that was accessible to him at the time.
Since the release of his debut Ashur in 2012, Tarek has been reinventing Arabic music within the framework of Black American Music in a genre often dubbed Afro-Tarab and most evident in his second album Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic.
Following the commission by the Abu Dhabi Festival, Tarek went on to research and write new music based on the largely unexplored rhythms of the Arabian Peninsula. The work entitled Peninsular was released to critical acclaim and described as "a world-jazz heard nowhere else" (TSF Jazz), "luminous music anchored in jazz harmony and Arab traditions" (Télérama), “striking, rather atypical, rich, varied… to urgently insert into your playlists” (Jazz Magazine) and "the most beautiful surprise of the beginning of this year" (Jazz News).
Winner of the prestigious "Thelonious Monk Int'l Jazz Composers Competition" for his composition "Sama'i Yamani", Tarek has been part of 5 all-star global concerts of the International Jazz Day and shared the stage with luminaries such as Wayne Shorter, Zakir Hussein, and Brian Blade.
While living in NYC between 2011 and 2019, Tarek has played as a leader or sideman in New York's most renowned jazz clubs such as the Lenox Lounge, Iridium, Smoke, Smalls, Cornelia Street Cafe, Bill’s Place, The Stone, Le Poisson Rouge, Shapeshifter Lab, Nublu & 55 Bar.
While living in NYC between 2011 and 2019, Tarek has played as a leader or sideman in New York's most renowned jazz clubs such as the Lenox Lounge, Iridium, Smoke, Smalls, Cornelia Street Cafe, Bill’s Place, The Stone, Le Poisson Rouge, Shapeshifter Lab, Nublu & 55 Bar.
In April 2013, he founded, organized & produced a cutting-edge performance called “Beirut Speaks Jazz” which aims to promote jazz in Lebanon by igniting adventurous collaborations between artists from the worlds of rock, pop, tarab, rap and blues over the foundations of jazz.
In October 2021, Tarek’s first string quartet “Berytus” which was commissioned by University Musical Society (Ann Arbor) was premiered by the Spektral Quartet part of the UMS Digital Artist Residency.
Tarek is the recipient of many grants such as the Baryshnikov Arts Center artist-in-residence, the Abu Dhabi Festival Commission, the Thelonious Monk Jazz Composers Competition, the Givanas Foundation grant, the Huygens scholarship, the Andrea Elkenbracht award, the Cultural Resource grant (Al Mawred), the Prins Bernhard Culture fund, the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency (did not attend), the New Dutch composition contest, and the Kulturprojekte Berlin Stipendien-Sonderprogramm.
Tarek is the recipient of many grants such as the Baryshnikov Arts Center artist-in-residence, the Abu Dhabi Festival Commission, the Thelonious Monk Jazz Composers Competition, the Givanas Foundation grant, the Huygens scholarship, the Andrea Elkenbracht award, the Cultural Resource grant (Al Mawred), the Prins Bernhard Culture fund, the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency (did not attend), the New Dutch composition contest, and the Kulturprojekte Berlin Stipendien-Sonderprogramm.
He performed around the world in venues such as the Smithsonian Institute (Washington, DC), Barcelona Cathedral at La Merce (Spain), David Rubenstein Atrium (Lincoln Center, NY), Dubai Expo 2020, Boulez Saal (Berlin), Dizzy's Club (Jazz at Lincoln Center), MuCEM (FR), the World Bank Auditorium (Washington DC), Gran Teatro de la Habana (Cuba), Melbourne Arts Center, New York University (Abu Dhabi Festival), the Blue Whale (LA), the Detroit Institute of Arts, New Morning (Paris), Aaron Davis Hall (NYC), and King’s Place (UK) to name a few.
As a film composer, Tarek has scored numerous short films such as "I Say Dust", “Like Salt” and “Tallahassee” which were screened in 70+ festivals around the world and were shown on BBC, Sundance TV and AMC Network.
As an author, he has written and self-published two books about rhythm: "Duple vs Triple: A Melodic Approach to Mastering Polyrhythms in Jazz and other Groove-Based Music in 56 Steps" and "The Percussion Ensemble of the Arabian Peninsula".
COUNTRIES PERFORMED: Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye, UAE, UK and the US.
He also gives a Masterclass on Jazz Tactics & Essentials of Improvisation. This workshop has been so far led around the world in spaces including: International Jazz Day (Cuba), International Jazz Day (Melbourne Conservatory), Ithra Center (Saudi Arabia), Beirut & Beyond Intl Music Festival (Lebanon), Bahrain International Music Festival (Manama), Realmonte Jazz (Italy), Collective School of Music (New York). Aaron Copland School of Music (New York), Vibe Studio (Egypt), Nuqat (Kuwait), and Jazz Club de Tunis (Tunis).
DISCOGRAPHY:
Peninsular (2017) — Portraits in Khaliji Rhythms and Jazz -- "Trailblazing pianist transforms Khaleeji music (CNN)"
Lisan Al Tarab (2014) — Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic -- "A sublime and innovative exploration of the common ground between Jazz and Arabic musical heritage (All About Jazz)"
Ashur (2012) — “Shimmering spidery piano godliness (Time Out)”
Peninsular (2017) — Portraits in Khaliji Rhythms and Jazz -- "Trailblazing pianist transforms Khaleeji music (CNN)"
Lisan Al Tarab (2014) — Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic -- "A sublime and innovative exploration of the common ground between Jazz and Arabic musical heritage (All About Jazz)"
Ashur (2012) — “Shimmering spidery piano godliness (Time Out)”
self-released on edict records
Singles:
No More Jazz (feat. Lynn Adib) (2022) — in collaboration with Anis Hachemi; released on BORDERS OF LIGHT
Hilal (2021) — compilation, Nahma: A Gulf Polyphony; released on FLEE
King Matar (2021) — self-released
Bibliography:
The Percussion Ensemble of the Arabian Peninsula: 36 descriptions and transcriptions of rhythms from Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain (in collaboration with Rony Afif)
* self-published
SELECT REVIEWS:
“Trailblazing pianist transforms khaleeji music” (CNN)
“Shimmering spidery piano godliness.” (Time Out)
“A Jazz Virtuoso” (Prestige Mag)
“A revelation... an organic hybrid of ecstatic proportions.” (New York City Jazz Record)
“A magician with his chromatics and disquieting passing tones.” (New York Music Daily)
“He devises a new idiom, with jazz as its stimulant, and classical Arabic music as its native tongue.” (UMS)
“Yamani’s piano amuses in varying the sensations, contradictory, paradoxical, resolved in the perception of the musical moment.” (L'Hebdo Magazine)
“A piano in each hand.” ( L'Agenda Culturel)
“Yamani’s resonant chords echo hauntingly in a provocative improvisation with a touch of thrilling angularity.” (All About Jazz)
“A world-jazz heard nowhere else.” (TSF Jazz)
“Inspired by the common black roots of Khaleeji music and jazz, weaves refined cadences.” (La Libération)
“Arabic modes run in his fingers as much as jazz, his playground... a remarkable rhythmic tonicity.” (Le Monde)
TOURING PROJECTS:
Tarek Yamani | SOLO "The Afro-Tarab Pairings Project"
The “Afro-Tarab Pairings Project” is a piano solo performance where each tarab / Arabic-influenced piece is paired with an Afro-American / jazz-influenced piece. The concept was born after a striking similarity was unwittingly noticed between the pieces of Tarek’s solo repertoire – consisting of rearrangements of songs from the classical Arabic, Samba, Afro-Cuban and jazz songbooks – making their connection become ever more evident once each piece was paired with its soul mate from a land far away. Coincidentally, after the pieces were paired based on their musical spirit, it turned out that they also matched either by titles, themes or poetic inclinations. This remains a mystery.
Some of the paired pieces include: Brazilian Chico Buarque’s “Com Acucar Com Afeto” x Egyptian Darwich Al Hariri’s “Muwashah Hubbi Zurni”, Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” x Alexandrian Sayed Darwich’s “Lahn Al Shayalan”, Harry Warren’s “You’re My Everything” x Lebanese Ziad Rahbani’s “Bala Wala Chi”, Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night In Tunisia” x Egyptian Kamel Al Khulai’s “Fi Hulal Al Afrah”, and many more.
Tarek Yamani | TRIO "Afro-Arabic Jazz Conceptions"
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 Jazz. The result, a genre often dubbed as “Afro-Tarab” is a performance which journeys from early 1900’s Egypt to contemporary New York. The repertoire will include reinterpretations of classical Arabic “muwashahat”, as well as original compositions based on edgy traditional Arabic rhythms and melodic modes.
Tarek Yamani | TRIO featuring Vladimir Karparov (saxophone player, Bulgaria)
Balkan Arab Jazz combination: "BULGARAB" *new project*
