Qanunist and Vocalist
Antoine Katz
Bassist
&
Tareq Rantisi
Percussionist
Saturday, 29 June 2013
The Jerusalem Fund
Join us for musical performance by Qanounist and vocalist Ali Amr and his colleagues Antoine Katz on the electric bass and Tareq Rantisi on percussion. Amr’s compositions contemplate Arabic and Jazz music while embracing different textures and styles within. He was honored with three advanced Marcel Khalife Competition Awards including the National Heritage Award as the Music Performer of the Year, 2004-2007. Since then he has been touring worldwide with different acts to include his own group “Ali Amr Experiment.”
The Qanun is a descendant of the old Egyptian harp, and is related to the ancient Greek psaltery, dulcimer and zither. The name derives from the Arabic word “k?nun,” which means rule, norm, principle. Its traditional music is based on Maqamat. It is essentially a zither with a narrow trapezoidal soundboard.
View a sneak peak of a past performance
About the Musician
Ali Amr is an award-winning Qanun performer and vocalist, recognized with the national award as Music Performer of the Year, 2004-2007. His compositions contemplate Jazz while embracing different textures and styles. A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Ali Amr resides in New York City touring with his own group, “The Experiment”, at venues including Boston Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl, Alamo Dome, Auditorio Nacional and Toronto’s Koerner Hall.Discovered by Simon Shaheen at age 7, touring worldwide by age 9, Ali has appeared in shows throughout Europe, Asia, Scandinavia and the United States, and has performed for the Royal Family of Jordan, President of Palestine and Paco de Lucia, who said about the experience “…tonight, Ali’s performance truly embodies Flamenco”.
Since then he has collaborated with Quincy Jones, Alejandro Sanz, Chick Corea, Concha Buika, Bobby Mcferrin, Javier Limon and Jack Dejohnette. Performances include Spain’s Festival de Peralada produced by Quincy Jones collaborating with Esperanza Spalding, Antonio Carmon. North Sea Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Bean town Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, BPC International Folk Festival and Middle East Festival.
