Dhafer Youssef is the Tunisian Oud master, vocalist and composer born on November 19th, 1967, in the Tunisian fishing village Teboulba. He grew up in a modest family, coming from a long line of muezzins. Mastering vocal potentials stands as a heritage and a family tradition.

At an early age, his grandfather initiates him to Quranic recitals in which he discovers his vocal potential. Dhafer Youssef starts singing the songs played on his mother’s radio set. His mother’s kitchen becomes his first experimental laboratory. At the age of 6, he discovers the resonance of his voice in his village’s Hammam. This fascinating discovery nourishes his ardent juvenile curiosity: Young Dhafer discovers his favorite toy.

Moved by the child’s beautiful voice, the local muezzin encourages him to carry out the call to prayer in the Mosque. Dhafer starts this task with a very cheap plastic microphone. His voice flows from the top of the minaret. There, he experiences his first encounter with an audience, a moment still engraved in his memory.

A few years later, Dhafer Youssef joins the local liturgical song troupe as a vocalist. Far from places of worship, Dhafer discovers a new toy at the youth center of Teboulba: The Oud. This is also where he discovers Electric Bass and more generally the so-called “groove”. After that, Young Dhafer is selected to join the Tunisian National Troupe by Mesbah Souli.

Aspiring to explore new horizons, Dhafer Youssef leaves his home village for Tunis. There he joins the musical conservatory at Nahj Zarkoun. Dissatisfied with the quality of teaching, he decides to leave for Vienna (Austria) to complete his musical training.

In Vienna, the creative exaltation of multiculturalism and his encounters open a new world of possibilities. Whereas he studies musicology, Dhafer realizes that he is not interested in academic training anymore. Seduced by Jazz and other musical genres – such as Indian music – he takes part in numerous jam sessions at different bars and clubs. He then forms his first band called Zeryab with the Austrian percussionist Gerhard Reiter. 

In 1996, his multiple discoveries and experiences give birth to his first demo Musafir (The Traveler, in Arabic). This demo is the result of an atypical encounter with Anton Burger, Achim Tang, Jatinder Thakur and Otto Leichner. He presents this project at the renowned Viennese club Porgy & Bess. After a successful first night, he is offered a Carte Blanche which consists in a series of monthly concerts at the club. There he meets Nguyên Lê, the French-Vietnamese guitarist that will later become he’s faithful music companion. He becomes friend with Paolo Fresu, an Italian trumpeter, who invites him to play throughout Europe.

Dhafer gains in maturity over the concerts and confirms his steady development with the release in 1999 of his 1st album Malak with Enja Records. In this album, the European jazz melodic structures meet the particular Mediterranean groove. This marks the beginning of an authentic musical identity impregnated with the artist’s origins. Dhafer is then promised to an international career. Acclaimed by critics, he goes on a successful European Tour.

https://dhaferyoussef.com

ظافر يوسف (مواليد طبلبة ، تونس عام 1967) مغن و مؤلف موسيقي و عازف عود

Dhafer Youssef - ظافر يوسف

THIS IS - JAZZ FUSSION

**ARABIC** 3

collaboration with Trilok and Shobha Gurtu

You, Remember This - Trilok Gurtu

Unrest

Unrest II

Motherland Journey

Warp (feat. Jackson Mathod & Kaidi Akinnibi)

Trinity

Butcher Brown Presents Triple Trey

Lawd Why

Reload

Street of Minarets

Sudra Funk (feat. Rakesh Chaurasia, Nguyên Lê, Marcus Miller, Adriano Dos Santos Tenorio & Vinnie Colaiuta)

Malak

Iman (To Adonis)

A Kind of Love

Jito and Tato

Tarannoum

Eklil

On the 1993 released studio-album „Crazy Saints“ first of all Pat Metheny and Joe Zawinul are dominating beside of Trilok Gurtu. Same yearTrilok Gurtu was on tour to support this album. On November 29th 1993 the “Trilok Gurtu’s Crazy Saints”-Trio with Daniel Goyone on keyboards and Chris Minh Doky on bass played a remarkable concert in Bremen.

Before Trilok’s music gradually changed to ‘Worldmusic’ ever since 1996, he was deep-rooted in Jazz in 1993. The conjunction of Indian Rythms with the elements of modern Jazz led to extraordinary aural experiences, impressingly documented on this concert recording. Trilok Gurtu’s matchless grooves, precise, virtuosic and punchy, are blending well with the widely textures, sound structures far from whiring Indian esoteric.
- original concert recording from Bremen 1993
- digitally remastered


Tillana

Produced by EURO GROOVE DEPARTMENT,this video is taken from the concert "EURO GROOVE DEPARTMENT & EUMIR DEODATO Live @ ARONA MUSIC FESTIVAL 2011.
Line Up:
EUMIR DEODATO: Keyboards
DANIELE GREGOLIN: guitar
MARCO MAGGIORE: drums
MATTEO BASSI: bass
GIORGIO PALOMBINO: percussions
Drum-Tech and stage assistant Davide Bortone.

supported by:
ERNIE BALL - MUSIC MAN - MESA BOOGIE - UFIP - LATIN PERCUSSION.

Audio originally recorded by Max Cappellini for C.D.P.M. musical service, mixed and mastered by Emiliano Bassi @ Pop Garage Studio.
Video Shot and edited by Moovie.
Directed by Alessandro Del Bianco.
Edited by Moovie and EURO GROOVE DEPARTMENT.