OUMI Ensemble
Nobuko Miyazaki   Flute/Shinobue
Mohannad Nasser  Oud
Ruedi Felder       Double Bass
Rami Al Jundi     Riqq, Daf, Darbuka, Cajon

OUMI Ensemble embraces and celebrates the diversity of the world. Their compositions and original arrangements of traditional music speak for their thirst and love for world music, fusing everything from jazz, classical, and even Latin influences with their solid Arabic and Japanese bases.

Before beginning its journey, OUMI Ensemble had to overcome turbulent waters that prevented them from making music together. When the situation in Syria became complicated, it became impossible for percussionist Rami Aljundi to travel to Damascus, interrupting his 5-year musical partnership with oud player Mohannad Nasser. It took a lot of flights for the New York-based flutist Nobuko Miyazaki and sometimes dangerous roads for Aljundi and Nasser to finally all reunite in Beirut, Lebanon in 2015. With the addition of Swiss bassist Ruedi Felder, OUMI Ensemble finally raised its sail and began its journey together.

OUMI Ensemble encompasses the whole spectrum of musicality: sweepingly fast-paced and sweetly melodic, intricate but approachable, traditional yet transcultural.　The members are all virtuosi in their own right. The oud player and composer Mohannad Nasser, equipped with his rigorous training in Arabic and Turkish music and an ever-growing knowledge of jazz and world music, instantly hooks the audience with his emotionally poignant tone, striking use of microtones, and his commanding yet delicate playing. Nobuko Miyazaki brings her calm, singing style; her unique nuances and melodic ornamentations stems from her well-versedness in the world’s traditional music. Doubling on the shinobue, she adds the dimension of pentatonic lyricism of Japanese folk music. Percussionist Rami Aljundi pulls together the ensemble with his riqq, darbuka, tar, and cajon, grooving the music through complex odd meters and subtlety of Arabic and world rhythms. Swiss double bassist Ruedi Felder completes the ensemble with his warm, friendly sound.

OUMI Ensemble is, all in all, a microcosm and an affirmation of our beautiful world of diversity.

Ocean photo by Heba Hage Felder

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