Dhafer Youssef - Birds Requiem

The Tunisian composer, oud teacher and singer Dhafer Youssef is a wandering musician in constant migration from one country to another within Europe and North Africa, having lived and worked in Tunisia, France, Austria, Norway and Turkey in the last years. As a follow-up to the magnificent Abu Nawas Rhapsody (2010), Dhafer Youssef's new album Birds Requiem brings together Norwegian trumpeter Nils PetterMolvaer and guitarist E VindAarset but also introduces new musical partners, including British double bassist Phil Donkin, Turkish clarinetist Hüsnü Senlendirici and Estonian pianist Kristjan Randalu.

Dhafer Youssef does not consider himself a jazz musician. Yet it is jazz musicians who provide you with the space and freedom you need to thrive, and it is in their company that you feel most at home. Even though he is constantly reaching into Middle Eastern spirituality and Sufi tradition for inspiration, Dhafer Youssef does not consider himself a religious person either. However, in Birds it suggests not only physical, but also a high spiritual altitude. In musical terms, birds Requiem is constantly trying to reach the divine. On a track like "Whirling birds ceremony", the dialogue interwoven in perfect harmony of the pitch between Dhafer Youssef's voice and Hüsnü Senlendirici's clarinet is impressive, while Kristjan Randalu's impressionist piano paints the most beautiful picture.

Dhafer Youssef (oud, vocals),

Hüsnü Senlendirici (clarinet),

Nils Petter Molvær (trumpet),

Aytaç Dogan (kanun),

Eivind Aarset (electric guitar, electronics, second ear),

Kristjan Randalu (piano),

Phil Donkin (double bass),

Chandler Sardjoe (drums).

01 – Birds canticum ‘Birds requiem’ suite

02 – Sweet blasphemy

03 – Blending souls & shades (to Shiraz)

04 – Ascetic mood

05 – Fugahirundinum ‘Birds requiem’ suite

06 – Khira ‘Indicium divinum’ (Elegy for my mother)

07 – 39th Gulay (to Istanbul)

08 – Archaic feathers ‘Birds requiem’ suite

09 – Sevdah (to Jon Hassel)

10 – Ascetic journey

11 – Whirling birds ceremony ‘Birds requiem’ suite