UAE | Heritage and Culture

Musallam presents Arabic jazz fusion

The Kuwait-born musician set about creating a union between his favourite genres and ended up with what sounds like a different genre altogether

  • By Marten Youssef, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:02 November 9, 2008
  • Tabloid

  • Musallam, born in Kuwait in 1970, realised his passion for music while he worked in Jordan as an architect
  • Image Credit: Marten Youssef/Gulf News
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The Kuwait-born musician set about creating a union between his favourite genres and ended up with what sounds like a different genre altogether

Arabic and jazz are probably two of the most dissimilar music genres to fuse, yet Kamal Musallam does it so seamlessly that it sounds like a different genre altogether.

On Thursday night Musallam and his band, the Kamal Musallam Trio, and the German jazz musician Volker Schlott performed at an Oriental Jazz event organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

"It's rare that two musicians who have never met before come together to perform such a distinct type of music," Musallam told tabloid!. "Musicians are very particular about their style and it's great because Schlott and I just met four days ago."

During the performance, that formed part of the Music of the World Series, Schlott played the alto-saxophone while Musallam alternated between the oud and the electric guitar.

Musallam, born in Kuwait in 1970, realised his passion for music while he worked in Jordan as an architect. He came to Dubai six years ago to pursue his musical career.

He then set out to create a union of his two favourite genres. However, according to this self-taught artist, the challenge was much more complicated than simply fusing instruments - it required a totally different method of composing.

"All the music I hear is in the back of my head. Every melody is linked to a story. Every one of my songs has lyrics to it in my head or images associated with it," Musallam said.

Favourites

Of the many songs he has composed, he favours two: Disoriental and Sovereign. "When I am playing these two, I picture the sound of the oud trying to compete with the music like a rose among the thorns trying to blossom."

Since coming to Dubai, Musallam has released two albums - Out of My City (2008) and On a Jordan River's Side (2003). He performs in Dubai and across the region with his band.

"This is a sign of a cultural dialogue," said Dr Elke Mohni, director of the Goethe Institue - the German cultural hub in the Gulf. "Music connect people and breaks down barriers. This is truly a symbolic event."

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