Musician Tarek Yamani to perform and conduct free jazz workshop in Sharjah

Lebanese-American composer and musician Tarek Yamani will perform The Afro-Tarab Pairings Project, a solo piano performance in which each Arabic-influenced piece is paired with an African American and jazz-influenced piece, at Al Mureijah Square, Sharjah, on November 1.

Some of the paired pieces will include Chico Buarque’s ‘Com Acucar Com Afeto’ with Darwich Al Hariri’s ‘Muwashah Hubbi Zurni’, Billy Strayhorn’s ‘Lush Life’ with Sayed Darwich’s ‘Lahn Al Shayalan’ and Harry Warren’s ‘You’re My Everything’ with Ziad Rahbani’s ‘Bala Wala Chi’.

Since teaching himself jazz at the age of 19, Yamani has dedicated his practice to exploring relationships between African American jazz and classical Arabic music, which he explored in his albums ‘Peninsular’ released in 2017 and ‘Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic’ released in 2014.

Ahead of his performance, the New York-based Yamani will also conduct a three-day workshop titled Jazz Tactics and Essentials of Improvisation, staring on October 30 at the Collections Building Arts Square in Sharjah.

Topics to be covered include Insight into the Rhythmic Structure of Jazz, Insight into Jazz Harmony and The Art of Ensemble Playing. Both the Sharjah Art Foundation events are free to attend but registration is mandatory on sharjahart.org. Participants are encouraged to bring their own instruments.