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Le
Trio
JOUBRAN
samir Joubran
oud, singing
adnan Joubran
oud
wissam Joubran
oud
Le Trio Joubran is supported by SACEM.
Samir Joubran
Oud
___________________________
Palestine
Interprets his own compositions and improvises
around classical and traditional pieces...
“Improvisations anchored in a knowledge of the maqam genre, intelligently
explored, revisiting traditional melodies… each note heightened by a certain
quality of silence - suspended somewhere between hope and rage. Sublime.”
A virtuoso of the oud, already hailed throughout the Arab world, Samir Joubran
is now gaining international recognition.
Since his first appearance in France at the “Nuits atypiques” festival in Langon in
2002, and the release of his first album Tamaas in February 2003, Samir has
unfailingly delighted the public.
Whether in the intimacy of a small setting, the effervescence of an open-air
festival, or before an audience of 40,000 - as at the Larzac 2003 gathering - the
spell works!
The first musician to have received a two-year grant from the International
Parliament of Writers (2003 - 2004) in Pontedera, Italy, his recent decision to
settle in Europe has provided a platform on which to develop his reputation,
touring France, Europe and beyond.
His success at the Chaînon Manquant festival in Figeac brought him a series of
concerts in France. His performance at Strictly Mundial 2003 in Marseilles led
to engagements at top European festivals including Moers in Germany and Sfinx
in Belgium.
In 2004, Samir has been selected for the Rideau 2004 project in Montreal,
gaining his first opportunity to perform in North America.
His talents as a composer and improviser quickly earned him the chance to work
with leading artists and intellectuals within the Arab world, notably the poet
Mahmoud Darwish and the film director Rashid Masharawi for whom he recorded
the original soundtrack of the film Ticket to Jerusalem in 2002.
He has also been asked to work for the European cinema:
The French film director François Dupeyron (best known for the award-winning
The Officers’ Ward (La chambre des Officiers) at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival
2002) chose three tracks from the Tamaas album for the soundtrack of his
latest film Inguélézi (released in February 2004).
Samir will also be writing the music for an original work to be staged shortly by
contemporary choreographers Héla Fattoumi and Eric Lamoureux…
Biography
Samir was born in 1973 in the Galilean city of Nazareth in a family with a strong
musical tradition. His mother sang in a Muashahat ensemble and his father,
Hatem, is an oud maker known throughout the Arab world.
When he was five, his father started teaching him the oud, and he went on to
enter the Nazareth Institute of Music at the age of 9. He completed his studies
at the Muhammad Abdul Wahhab Conservatory in Cairo.
He has performed at some of the most important venues in the Arab world:
The Cairo Opera House – the Jerusalem Festival - The Jarash International
Festival in Jordan, the Muscat Festival in Oman, Palestinian Week in Qatar and
many more.
Artist and Palestinian
“He plays with eyes closed. On his features, shadows and signs betray anxiety.
Something is burning inside, a biting intensity,…. In the silences, the spaces
between notes, reality is screaming out”.
Patrick Labesse - Le Monde, 4 & 5/08/2002
“Though this is Arab music, it is really about Palestine, sung in instrumental
poetry, vibrating to the sound of two lutes. There is no need here for speeches.
The strength of the music, the life that it exudes, its manifest dignity speak far
louder than words.”
Etienne Bours - Répertoire, juin 2003
On stage
Samir performs in duo or trio formations with his
younger brothers.
Wissam Joubran, 20, the first stringed-instrument
maker in the Arab world to enter the Antonio
Stradivari Institute in Italy has a remarkable gift
for improvisation and intelligent and harmonious
transitions between the Arab Maqamats.
Adnan Joubran, 18, who will making his debut on the international stage in 2004,
is considered a prodigy by his elder brothers.
Adnan will be the sharing the stage with Samir in the presentation of an original
work by the choreographers Fattoumi – Lamoureux, for whom Samir is currently
writing the music.
A growing reputation built up through performances in France, Europe and
beyond.
In France (selected dates from the 2003 tour)
Le Divan du Monde (Paris) - Unesco (Paris) – L’Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris) - Strictly
Mundial (Marseilles) – Le Chaînon Manquant (Figeac) - Festival Les Suds (Arles) - Les Nuits
Atypiques (Langon) - Larzac 2003 (Larzac plateau) - Rhino Jazz Festival (42) - Festival
Convergences (54) - Espace Jean Vilar (Lannester 56) - Maison du Monde (Evry 91) - La
Balinière (Rezé 44) - Théâtre Simone Signoret (Conflans Ste Honorine 78) - Le Palace –
Théâtre les Sept Collines (Tulle 19) …
In Europe and beyond (selected dates from the 2003 tour)
Druga Gobda Festival / Ljubljana (Slovenia) - Moers Music Festival / Moers (Germany) Falun Folk Music Festival / Falun (Sweden) - Sfinks Festival / Boechout (Belgium) Associazione Echo Art / Genoa (Italy) - Cantigas do Maio / Lisbon (Portugal) - Festival Sete
Sois Sete Luas / Pontedera (Italy) - Festival Sete Sois Sete Luas / Tavernes de la Valldigna
(Italy) - Kulturamt der Stadt / Freiburg (Germany) - Maison de la Méditerranée / Belfort Festival d’Art / Huy (Belgium) - Sao Paolo (Brazil) – Montreal (Quebec) …
Discography
Tamaas – daquí label réf.332015
Released in March 2003
Bravo ! in Trad Magazine
10 in Répertoire
Next album: a trio album – daquí label – 2005
Samir Joubran:
reviewed in
2002
Le Figaro, Valérie Sasportas / L’Humanité, Bertrand Catus / Sud-Ouest, Bérangère Dunglas / Le
Monde, Patrick Labesse
2003
L’Huma Hebdo / Valeurs Actuelles, SH / La Dépêche du Midi, Guy Labro / Mondomix papier,
Sophie Guerinet / Le Bien Public, Estelle Romano / La Marseillaise, Dominique Keller / Le
Populaire du Centre / Yasmina, Nadia Kkouri-Dagher / Nova Magazine, Rabah Mezouane / M-lamusic.com, Sanday Raonison / Oh La ! / Le Républicain Lorrain / Ecouter Voir, Elisabeth Castor /
Virgin Megapresse, Patrick Labesse / Altérités.com, François Bensignor / Trad mag, Marie-Paule
Bonné / Répertoire, Etienne Bours / Politis, Denis-Constant Martin / Songlines, Bill Badley …
2004
Songlines, Bill Badley
Extracts
Songlines - November-December 2004
Bill
Badley
Despite the well-documented problems in the Middle East, there are some fine young Palestinian musicians emerging
onto the world stage. Foremost amongst these is oud virtuoso, Samir Joubran, who's recent CD Tamaas managed to
be both arrestingly fresh and rooted in the Arab tradition. It also featured some rarely-heard oud duets -played with his
younger brother Wisam- and the intuitive interplay between the two siblings was a foretaste of things to come. Now
youngest brother Adnaan joins them in their new venture, "le Trio Joubran" which makes its debut at this year's
WOMEX expo. The oud is clearly in the family blood and father Hatim is the latest in a long line of master craftsmen of
the instrument. Whilst the future looks bright for them in Europe, travelling to concert bookings in the Arab world is
made far more complex by a quirk of bureaucracy -they are Arabs who hold Israeli passports. The irony of the situation
is particularly cruel for Samir: whilst he was performing a concert in Paris for UNESCO, the Israeli army bombed his
house in Ramallah.
Songlines - September-October 2003
Bill Badley
Amidst the horrifying images and depressing news that come out of Palestine, it's all too easy to forget that it is actually
a hauntingly beautiful country with a lively music scene, even if many of its performers are living elsewhere. Samir
Joubran and his brother Wissam are typical of the Palestinian diaspora - two of the country's finest young musicians,
but both now living in Italy. In Arabian art music, ouds (lutes) are rarely heard in pairs but the intuitive sense of
ensemble that these brothers share makes it a magical combination. Also, as the sons of a master oud maker, they
seem to know how to coax every drop of sound from their instruments.
Whilst the overall tone of Tamaas is quite sombre, there is a richness and vitality about the playing which keeps you
gripped throughout. Musically, Samir Joubran's compositions are an intriguing set of contrasts: wholly modern yet
firmly rooted in the taqasim (improvisation) tradition; fiery and virtuosic, but tempered by a broad sense of space and
understatement. This is contemporary oud playing at its finest - inventive, quixotic and arresting - and it should appeal
equally both to die-hard lute-ohiles and those approaching Arab music for the first time. As if to prove the point, when I
was casually listening to this CD while parked in a small Wiltshire market town, a rather distinguished-looked "county"
type came up to ask "What's that absolutely gorgeous music?"!
Répertoire - June 2003
Etienne Bours
Thirty-year old Samir Joubran and his brother Wissam, twenty, were born in Nazareth where the Arab lute, the oud, is
made, played and is the voice of Palestinian tradition and Arabic classical music. Samir leads Wissam, his younger
brother and fellow lute player, in a musical adventure based on a keen ear and virtuosity in trading ideas and invention.
Their mastery and flawless knowledge of the traditional maqam allows the brothers the freedom to subtly revisit and
reinterpret an impressive tradition. They move smoothly from mode to mode and explore the rhythmic potential of the
genre. Punctuated by eloquent silences that seem redolent with history, they add quotations from popular song,
anchoring the music in a day-to-day reality that, by necessity, feeds on the force of verse.
They have an acknowledged debt to the heritage of the Byzantine church. They let go in joint improvisations, opening
subtle windows on to the interaction between East and West, and the more distant influence of flamenco. This album
should not be dismissed as just one more addition to an already rich discography, for the Joubran brothers deserve a
full hearing. What we in fact have here is the work of young musicians, flag bearers for an essential generation that is
carrying forward, renewing and injecting new life into a secular tradition.
Virgin Megapresse - April 2003
Patrick Labesse
Samir Joubran is Palestinian […] To hear his instrument sing is to be entrusted with a secret. Studded with silences,
his music suggests intense emotion, deep-rooted storm. Between notes that soothe like a much-needed caress runs
the hope of peace, and dreams of serenity. From erudite improvisation to traditional tunes, including a famous tune
borrowed recently by the Madrid band Radio Tarifa, Samir Joubran’s lute duo with brother Wissam, ten years younger,
is totally enchanting.
Nova Magazine - March 2003
Rabah Mezouane
In a short space of time, Samir Hathim Joubran, son of a lute-maker and outstanding exponent of the oud, with striking
good looks (he has played several theatre roles) has attained the status of an idol for young Palestinians, while at the
same time securing the esteem of his elders and peers. Born in 1973 in Nazareth, Samir, who learned his craft from
local masters, completed his training at the prestigious Institute of Music in Cairo, where he caught the eye of a major
figure of Arab music, Mohamed Abdel Wahab. He decided, however to return to Palestine where his art could serve
the cause of his people. With Abdel Salameh (who lives in Lyons, France), he is the only Palestinian musician to be
working outside the Palestinian territories. Classical, but not austere, he has found his place within the matrix of Arab
music by drawing inspiration from a historical and political context that is a long story of suffering. A gifted composer
committed to the preservation of a heritage, he has teamed up with younger brother Wissam, 20, to form a virtuoso
duo that delivers a sound which, while emotionally charged, is never desperate. Like that of any human being who is
fighting to survive.
L’Humanité Hebdo- 29 March 2003
The missing link unchained.
Revelation at the 2002 Nuits Atypiques festival in Langon, the duo formed by Samir and Wissam Joubran, who perform
regularly in Paris, will be the event at the 2nd missing link festival, the chaînon manquant. The music that pours out
from the two is eminently serene [ …] Improvisations anchored in a knowledge of the maqam genre, intelligently
explored, revisiting traditional melodies. Then there is that quality of silence - as though suspended between hope and
rage - highlighting each note. Sublime. […]
Alterites.com - 22 May 2003
François Bensignor
Samir Oubran’s oud draws a richly inspired calligraphy which, while abiding by the rules of the maqam, affirms bold
freedom in its contemporary approach to variation. Never pedantic, his playing boldly marks out its own territory from
that of the grand masters of the genre. Though he willingly challenges the orthodoxy of tradition, combing elements
from different maqamat in the title track Tamaas, the sensitivity of his playing wins soon convinces. From caressing
roundness to elliptical irony, Samir Joubran uses his pallet of sound to paint a wide range of emotions, drawing equally
on popular Palestinian song (Tamaas), Arabic or flamenco tradition (El Nesf El Akhar), and Byzantine music (Khalaas).
Throughout this third album set, he is accompanied by a darbouka or by younger brother Wissam in a beautiful lute
dialogue. The two pieces that close the album are live takes from the Nuits Atypiques festival in Langon, and give an
indication of the fervour that the brothers from Palestine can generate.
Trad Magazine - May-June 2003
Marie-Paule Bonné
Oud duos are rare. This one is something special [...] Why? Because the two musicians here, accompanied by
percussion (darbouka and daf), are truly united both on the musical and human levels... Take my advice: miss neither
the record nor the concert, both offer precious and blissful moments.
Valeurs Actuelles - 14 March 2003
S.H.
Samir Joubran was born in Nazareth in 1973 [. ..] His fingers tell of the suffering of Palestine. A rich culture that is ever
present in this potent music, which leaves enormous scope for improvisation. Samir Joubran even leaves intervals of
silence "to allow the audience the space to inject their own feelings and culture into the specific characteristics of our
music".
Le Républicain Lorrain - 13 April 2003
G.O.
A virtuoso of the Palestinian oud, Samir Joubran is a musical alchemist. Born into a family with a musical tradition (his
father makes ouds), he went on to study at the Cairo Conservatory. Particularly in evidence on this album, Tamaas,
where he is accompanied by brother Wissam, are the harmony, the improvisations and the intelligent transitions.
La Marseillaise - 28 February 2003
D.B.
[...] There is no escaping the spell and thrill of this music, with its arabesques and complicity. Fraternity, in every sense
of the word, a rare elegance and intensity, a stage performance to miss on no account, and a magnificent Tamaas
album.
Sud-Ouest - 6 August 2002
Bérengère Dunglas
The Palestinians, Samir and Wissam Joubran, with nothing more than there ouds, transformed the night into a mellow
dream. On their faces you can read the suffering of a people. On stage in the superb setting of the Arcades, they made
a few notes into a magical night.
Le Monde 4 and 5 August 2002
Patrick Labesse
He plays with eyes closed. On his features, shadows and signs betray anxiety. Something is burning inside, a biting
intensity,…. In the silences, the spaces between notes, reality is screaming out. Accompanied by brother Wissam,
Samir Joubran plays Ramallah August 10, “a piece composed in memory of the night last year when my house was
bombarded”, he says. He dedicates it to his wife and two-year old daughter, explaining that he does not know “whether
they will have been authorised to go out today, whether they will have been able to find some milk”.
A few hours before going on stage, Samir Joubran, confesses that it is hard to conjure up a smile for the public when
you are besieged with doubts like these. Though he has recorded two albums and has done a number of dates abroad,
he cannot see how it is possible to build a career “when you have no choice but to live day-to-day and your life is
constantly threatened”.
Does he still have a dream? “Right now, my dream is the same every day - to wake up in the morning and still be
alive.” The next dream is to one day enjoy the nature, the trees, and compose music, unaffected by events in
Palestine.
Born in Nazareth, Samir and Wissam Joubran now live in Ramallah. They agree that working together is the best way
to cultivate the deep musical understanding they share. From erudite improvisation to traditional tunes, including a
famous tune borrowed recently by the Madrid band Radio Tarifa, a less indispensable reinterpretation of a piece by
Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz (Asturias), the duo enchanted and then thrilled the big audience at the Arcades, a
delightful, off-beat festival venue that is in fact a small, open-air courtyard where barrels of wine were formerly
deposited before being ferried down the Garonne to Bordeaux...
Le Figaro 5 - August 2002
Valérie Sasportas
Samir and Wissam Joubran could not conceal their emotion when the audience rose to give them a standing ovation at
the end of their set. The intimate setting of the Arcades, where they played last Friday, was tailor-made for this music.
At 29, Samir is the elder brother. The leader. The virtuoso. His fingers flash precisely and sensitively over the strings.
Frenzied sextuplets enveloped in trills give way to suave enigmatic syncopation, leaping around the stave and across
the bar lines. On Friday, Samir played for his wife and daughter, who are not authorised to leave Ramallah. The public
listened to the story of the two young men, bonded by music, fraternity and humanity.
PO Box 280786, San Francisco, CA 94128
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