Featuring Tarek Yamani & Yacine Boulares Quartet
SAT, OCT 5, 2024, 8 PM at LEFRAK CONCERT HALL
SET LIST
BIOGRAPHY
YACINE BOULARES
Hailed by Radio France Internationale as “a Tunisian man in NY, one of the most talented jazzmen of his generation,” Yacine Boulares is a French-Tunisian saxophonist, composer, and curator.
After earning a Bachelor’s in Philosophy from Paris La Sorbonne and graduating from the Paris National Conservatory, Yacine moved to New York in 2009 on a Fulbright scholarship to attend the New School for Jazz. NYC exposed him to a myriad of different musical influences. Soon, he began touring with Fela Kuti’s ex-drummer Jojo Kuo and Haitian Kompa legends Tabou Combo (since 2013). In their music, he found a deep connection to his Tunisian roots.
These influences inspired Yacine to seek his own identity, leading him to explore North and West African rhythms. This exploration resulted in the creation of AJOYO with Sarah Elizabeth Charles and Jesse Fischer, a blend of African tradition, jazz, and soul. AJOYO has released two albums, in 2015 and 2020. Their second album, War Chant, was awarded Best Global Music EP at the Independent Music Awards in 2020.
In 2014, Yacine was featured as a soloist and arranger on Placido Domingo’s Encanto Del Mar. This collaboration with cellist Vincent Segal inspired him to explore the Tunisian Stambeli repertoire with drummer Nasheet Waits. In 2015, their trio—Abu Sadiya—was granted the French American Jazz Exchange, the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, and the Brooklyn Arts Fund grants. The album, released in 2017, was hailed by Le Monde as “a glittering instrumental suite, all fluidity and golden colors.” The trio performed at Jazzahead in 2017, and their US tours included Lincoln Center and the Jazz Gallery in NYC.
In 2019, Yacine was selected to be part of the Joe’s Pub Working Group. His residency led to the creation of the Habibi Festival in New York, the first US music festival dedicated to contemporary Arabic music (now in its fourth year).
In 2020, Yacine was commissioned by the Théâtre National de l’Opéra de Tunis to create Night in Tunisia, a project re-appropriating Dizzy Gillespie’s standard through a suite of original compositions blending Tunisian rhythms, soul, and Arabic traditions. In 2022, Night in Tunisia became the collective OSOOL, which has since toured the US (Habibi Festival, Duke University, Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, Drom, The ArtYard, and more).
In 2023, Yacine participated in Archie Shepp’s creation The Cry of My People at BAM, performing alongside Jason Moran, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Amina Claudine Myers, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, and Amir El Saffar.
Yacine is a 2023-24 National Arts Club Fellow.
TAREK YAMANI
“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 constantly stretches the boundaries between Black American Music, 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 teenage metalhead. He taught himself the guitar and spent years immersed in the world of metal.
At 19, after co-producing and performing with the iconic Arabic hip-hop band Aksser, jazz appeared as a revelation, showing him the musical expression he had been searching for. Unable to find a mentor, he taught himself jazz piano via records and, later, books.
Since the release of his debut album Ashur in 2012, Tarek has reinvented Arabic music within the framework of Black American Music, a genre often dubbed Afro-Tarab. This is most evident in his second album Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic.
Commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Festival, Tarek researched and composed new music based on the largely unexplored rhythms of the Arabian Peninsula. The resulting work, Peninsular, was critically acclaimed and described as “a world-jazz heard nowhere else” (TSF Jazz), “luminous music anchored in jazz harmony and Arab traditions” (Télérama), and “the most beautiful surprise of the year” (Jazz News).
Tarek is the winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Composers Competition for his composition “Sama’i Yamani”. He has shared the stage with luminaries such as Wayne Shorter, Richard Bona, Zakir Hussein, Esperanza Spalding, and Antonio Sanchez.
He has performed globally in venues such as the Smithsonian Institute, Barcelona Cathedral, Lincoln Center, Boulez Saal in Berlin, and many others. Since moving to NYC in 2011, Tarek has played in the city’s renowned jazz clubs, including the Lenox Lounge, Iridium, and Dizzy’s Club.
In April 2013, Tarek founded and produced “Beirut Speaks Jazz,” an innovative performance promoting jazz in Lebanon through collaborations with artists from various genres.
Tarek has received numerous awards and commissions, including from the Abu Dhabi Festival, the Thelonious Monk Jazz Composers Competition, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center.
As a film composer, Tarek has scored several short films, which have been screened at over 70 festivals worldwide and aired on networks like BBC and AMC.
Tarek is also the author of two books on rhythm: Duple vs Triple and The Percussion Ensemble of the Arabian Peninsula.
SAM MINAIE
Iranian-American bassist and producer Sam Minaie was born and raised in Reno, Nevada. After completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Nevada, Reno, Sam moved to Los Angeles to study with Charlie Haden at California Institute of the Arts, where he earned his Master’s degree.
Now based in New York City, Sam has toured and recorded with numerous artists, including Tigran Hamasyan, Kneebody, Donny McCaslin, and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra. He is also the founder of birdFood Studio in NYC, where he works as a producer and post-production engineer.
ELE SALIF HOWELL
Born and raised in the Bay Area, Elé Salif Howell began his drumming career at the age of two. He later studied piano and composition and played in the Oaktown Jazz Workshops. Elé continued his musical education at NYU, where he formed a close apprenticeship with master drummer Lenny White.
Elé has toured the world with Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott) and now plays in Ravi Coltrane’s band. Coltrane has praised Elé as “an excellent drummer who plays with a lot of heart and intensity.”
Elé is endorsed by Istanbul Agop Cymbals.