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Rabih Abou-Khalil

The oud virtuoso Rabih Abou Khalil was born in Beirut Lebanon in 1957 and grew up during the two decades when Beirut was on of the most cosmopolitan of all cities. He studied traditional Arabic music on the oud, western classical music on the flute and was exposed at home to both rock and jazz. In 1978 he moved to Munich Germany due to the Lebanese civil war and continued his study of classical flute. In fact he played flute on his first albumcalled Compositions & Improvisations recorded in 1981 but shortly afterwards he switched to the oud which he plays on all his subsequent recordings. The oud is a traditional Arab musical instrument and is the predecessor to both the lute and the guitar. It looks like a lute with 5-6 double strings of either nylon or gut. It is the quintessential compositional instrument in Arabic musical heritage.

Rabih Abou-Khalil not only integrated classical Arabic musical ideas into western improvisational music and jazz but also started experimenting with traditional musical genres from other parts of the world. In his first seven recordings for Enja, MMP and ECM he experimented with fusing traditional Arabic musical ideas and scales with jazz. With Al-Jadida and Blue Camel both recorded in the early 90s he started introducing Turkish musical elements into jazz. He continued to experiment with Arabic, Turkish and Western musical forms fused with jazz until 2004 when another career defining CD Morton’s Foot was released. On this record he adds the accordion of Luciano Biondini and the vocals of Sardinian singer Gavino Murgia whose style is reminiscent of Tibetan throat singing.

In the late 90s he hosted Visions of Music a 13-part documentary series that explored through musician interviews and film footage the blending of jazz with different world traditional music including Caribbean salsa, Brazilian samba, Argentine tango, French musette, Spanish flamenco, Jewish klezmer, African, Indian and Arabic music, and New Orleans R&B.

He has performed in over 100 music festivals worldwide and has worked with an international cast of musicians including Sonny Fortune, Kenny Wheeler, Glenn Velez and Steve Swallow. In addition to composing, performing and recording music he designs his own CD covers in the traditional style of Arabic calligraphy and non-figurative art.

He lives in Munich with his wife and 2 children.

European Jazz Conference 2017

by Ian Patterson
October 2, 2017

European Jazz Conference 2017 Cankarjev dom jny: Ljubljana, Slovenia September 21-24, 2017 The snow-capped mountains flanking Ljubljana form a natural border between Slovenia and Italy and provided a picturesque backdrop to the 4th annual European Jazz Conference. For the record two hundred and twenty conference attendees [Europe Jazz Network members and guests] the sun shone and the air was cool. The handsome Slovenian capital, with its bicycle-friendly, litter-free streets felt serene as tourists strolled ...

Interview

Rabih Abou Khalil: Bridging Cultural Divides

by Nenad Georgievski
December 11, 2013

Rabih Abou Khalil is one of the most respected virtuoso oud players and composers whose wide range of interests and insatiable curiosity for new music from around the globe has significantly enriched his own work. His music is his own universe where an ongoing dialogue between Khalil and the rest of the world has been occurring. He was born and raised in the cosmopolitan climate of Beirut, Lebanon, before the civil war that ravaged his homeland forced him to leave ...

Live Review

Rabih Abou Khalil and Penelope X at the Bitola World Music Festival 2013

by Nenad Georgievski
November 23, 2013

Rabih Abou Khalil/Penelope X Bitola World Music Festival NU Centar za Kultura Bitola, Macedonia November 9, 2013 Bitola, one of the most beautiful cities in southeastern Europe, is a place that ignites the imagination immediately. With its tasteful and stylish architecture reflected in multicolored facades and European honorary consulates, it displays the city's rich history that stretches back into ancient times. The city blossomed most during the rule of the ...

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Album Review

Rabih Abou-Khalil: Em Portugues

Read "Em Portugues" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
March 9, 2009

Musical alchemist, oud virtuoso and springer of surprises, Rabih Abou-Khalil has never been shy about immersing himself into challenging musical environments. So the suggestion by Ricardo Pais, director of the Teatro Nacional Sao Joao, Porto to have Abou-Khalil write music to the words of five Portuguese poets represented an irresistible challenge. The project sees Abou-Khalil utilizing a singer for the first time--the impressive fadoist Ricardo Ribeiro. Em Portugues however, is not fado, but a marriage between its poetic, blues spirit ...

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Album Review

Rabih Abou-Khalil: Songs For Sad Women

Read "Songs For Sad Women" reviewed by Ian Patterson

by Ian Patterson
March 23, 2008

Showing respect and audacity in equal measure, the music of Lebanese oud player/composer Rabih Abou-Khalil has always stretched musical boundaries and traversed time. His is a music which embraces tradition, and challenges it. On Songs for Sad Women Abou-Khalil marshals a stripped-down ensemble which plays with air akin to intimate chamber music, yet with the soul of timeless folk music.

The combination of Armenian 'duduk,' (a double-reed instrument related to the cornet whose origins pre-date both Christianity and Islam), the ...

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Album Review

Rabih Abou-Khalil / Joachim K: Journey to the Centre of an Egg

Read "Journey to the Centre of an Egg" reviewed by Jim Santella

by Jim Santella
March 28, 2006

With a program of compositions by Rabih Abou-Khalil and Joachim Kühn, Journey to the Centre of an Egg shifts to various parts of the globe, combining mainstream jazz with world music. Most of the flavor in their creations centers on the Middle Eastern tradition. This comes as no surprise, since Abou-Khalil was born in Lebanon and lived there until adulthood. But the session also includes flavors from other areas, including Spain, the Caribbean, South Africa, and parts of South America.

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Album Review

Rabih Abou-Khalil / Joachim Kuhn / Jarrod Cagwin: Journey to the Centre of an Egg

Read "Journey to the Centre of an Egg" reviewed by AAJ Staff

by AAJ Staff
March 19, 2006

The amount of time that Rabih Abou-Khalil had to wait to receive proper recognition in North America was almost criminal. After amassing ten releases on the German Enja label, the Lebanese oud virtuoso finally penetrated the Western hemisphere through a licensing deal with Montreal's Justin Time and the release of 2004's border-bridging sextet effort, Morton's Foot.

And so expectations are high for this more intimate trio followup, which prominently features German pianist/co-composer Joachim Kühn (who plays alto saxophone on one ...