Bassam Saba

Bassam Saba (* 1959 ) is a Lebanese composer, conductor and multi-instrumentalist. In addition to Arabic instruments such as the nay , the oud , the saz and the buzuq , he also plays the classical flute and violin.

Saba studied nay, oud and violin at the Lebanese National Conservatory. From 1976 he studied classical western music and flute at the Conservatoire Municipal des Gobelins in Paris. From 1979 to 1985 he obtained his master's degree in flute and music education at the Moscow Gnessin Institute .

He then returned to Beirut, where he became the leader of the Beirut Symphonic Band and performed with singers such as Fairuz , Majida El Roumi and Wadih El Safi and the composers and musicians Ziad Rahbani , Marcel Khalifé and Toufic Farroukh . As a classical flautist he gave concerts in Russia, France, Japan and the USA.

In 1990 he became a member of Simon Shaheen's Near Eastern Music Ensemble and his group Al-Qantara in New York . He has also performed with jazz musicians such as saxophonist Sonny Fortune , percussionists Jamey Haddad and Glen Velez and bassist Mike Richmond . With the group Al-Qantara he took part in 2001 in Sting's concert at the Jones Beach Theater . In 2002 he and his ensemble Musique sans Frontières performed at a memorial concert for the victims of September 11, 2001 with the Guarneri String Quartet , the Julliard String Quartet and the Shanghai String Quartet . In 2004 he played nay and flute at the We Are the Future concert in Rome with pianist Herbie Hancock , trumpeter Quincy Jones , with Kazim as-Sahir and Simon Shaheen.

Saba is also a member of Yo-Yo Mas Silk Road Ensemble and worked as a guest soloist with the Absolute Ensemble , with whom he premiered the concerto for nay and orchestra, composed for him by Daniel Schnyder , under the direction of Kristjan Järvi . He has been teaching at the annual Arabic Music Retreat since 1996 and has headed the Harvard Middle Eastern Music Ensemble since 2003 . His own sextet, the Bassam Saba Ensemble , consists of violinist Megan Gould , cellist Will Martina , double bassist Ben Street and percussionists April Centrone and Jamey Haddad . With him he recorded the album Wonderful Land in 2009 with his own compositions.

Discography

• Toufic Farroukh : Little Secrets , 1998
• Simon Shaheen: Blue Flame , 2001
• Simon Shaheen: Myriades Soukoun , 2001
• Toufic Farroukh: Drab Zeen , 2002
• Silk Road Ensemble: Off the Map , 2009
• Bassam Saba Ensemble: Wonderful Land , 2009
• Matt Herskowitz : Jerusalem Trilogy , 2010
• Maya Beiser : Provenance , 2010

swell

• The Silk Road Project - Bassam Saba
• The Cedar - Bassam Saba
• Cultural Bridges: "BASSAM SABA - Arabic Music By A World-Renowned Nay Virtuoso & Multi-Instrumentalist"

Web link

• Bassam Saba's homepage