Ibrahim Maalouf

A French trumpeter of Lebanese origin born in Beirut on November 5, 1980, Ibrahim Maalouf won numerous conservatory prizes before becoming the regular accompanist for -M- (Matthieu Chedid), Arthur H, Amadou et Mariam, Vincent Delerm and Lhasa. His jazz-funk albums, Diasporas in 2007, Diachronism in 2009 and Diagnostic in 2011, delight eclectic jazz fans. His next album, Wind, released in 2012, serves as a musical illustration for René Clair's silent film La proie du vent . The following year saw the release of Illusions, the fifth album in the jazz fusion series. In search of new projects, he then teamed up with rapper Oxmo Puccino to score the show Au Pays d'Alice, inspired by Lewis Carroll's tale. In 2015, two albums are released simultaneously: Red & Black Light features original compositions joined by a Beyoncé cover, while Kalthoum is a tribute to the Egyptian singer Oum Kalsoum. Both are dedicated to femininity. Two soundtracks, for the films La Vache (2015) and Dans les forêts de Sibérie (2016), precede the release of Dalida by Ibrahim Maalouf (2017), a project based on the singer's songs and featuring contributions from Alain Souchon, Melody Gardot, Thomas Dutronc, Mika, Rokia Traoré and Arno. The following year saw the publication of his most ambitious work, Levantine Symphony No. 1, for trumpet, orchestra and choir, followed in 2020 by a collaborative re-reading of his repertoire, 40 Mélodies, featuring duets with Sting, M, Marcus Miller, Richard Bona, Arturo Sandoval, Jon Batiste, Alfredo Rodriguez, Trilok Gurtu, Kronos Quartet and Jowee Omicil, among others. The musician, a rare example of the jazz artist popular with the general public, draws on the most varied collaborations for his projects, which vary greatly from one album to the next. Capacity to Love (2022), for example, brings together Gregory Porter, Kevin Mercer from De La Soul and unexpected guest Sharon Stone, for a meeting of funk, rap and electro, while Trumpets of Michelangelo (2024) pays tribute to his trumpeter father, who gave him his unique quarter-tone instrument, and whose son designed an exact replica for the recording, featuring M, Trombone Shorty, Toumani Diabaté and Iranian singer Golshifteh Farahani.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.