Dhafer Youssef

About Dhafer Youssef

“Dhafer Youssef is one of the most important ambassadors of contemporary music, which fortunately escapes labels and fixed style designations. A delight for the ears.” Edison Awards 2017. Oud master, Vocalist and composer Dhafer Youssef is at the vanguard of a movement in contemporary music that brings East and West together. He is one of the most inventive oud players in the world and has succeeded in freeing the instrument from its traditional role and bringing it into Jazz. Youssef was born in 1967 in a fishing village in Tunisia. His grandfather taught him to sing verses from the Quran but really Youssef preferred to listen to the radio in his mother’s kitchen. He had his first audience at the age of 5 years old when his voice echoed from the mosque’s minaret. At the age of 18 years old he left Tunisia, and he studied music in Vienna, where he lived for 13 years before moving to New York. Dhafer Youssef has played with musicians from every corner of the globe including Herbie Hancock, Zakir Hussain, Al Jarreau, Wayne Shorter …