Join us for th e final event of the Claremont Mini Jazz Fest with the Mohamed Abozekry Se xtet. The work of oud master and musical polymath Mohamed Abozekry resonat es in time and of place\, as he excavates and renews the deep frame of Egy ptian classicism. With a new sextet featuring musicians working across and around two continents he continues to push the boundaries of what it mean s to be contemporary. Roh El Fouad (The Heart’s Soul)\, Abozekry’s fifth a lbum\, released in 2024\, fuses oud\, bass\, drums\, keyboard\, percussion \, saxophone\, and vocals to form the latest chapter in Abozekry’s improvi sational exploration of Egyptian music without a predetermined template.\n
“With brilliant\, inventive virtuosity that goes far beyond technical mastery…in Roh El Fouad Abozekry’s compositio ns are interwoven with jazz\, Arabic modes\, and swirling ardor.” Le Monde \, May 2024
\nMohamed Abozekry
\nAs performer and writer\, the compositions and techniques of oud master and m usical polymath Mohamed Abozekry excavate and renew the deep frame of Egyp tian classicism.
\nIn this project featuring a sextet of musicians f rom Cairo\, Paris\, and New York\, Abozekry presents Roh El Fouad< /em> (The Heart’s Soul). Released in 2024 this albu m fuses oud\, bass\, drums\, keyboard\, percussion\, saxophone\, and vocal s to form the latest chapter in Abozekry’s musical explorations without a predetermined template.
\nBorn in Cairo in 1991\, Abozekry graduated at 15 from the Arabic Oud house in Cairo. He was the youngest oud teacher in the Arab world\, and in 2009 was awarded first prize at the Internatio nal Oud Competition in Syria. At the age of 18\, he began splitting his ti me in France where his career as an international artist began. Now a dual national of France and Egypt\, navigating cultural borders is a core sour ce of inspiration.
\nPursuing his love of cinema and film scores\, A bozekry earned a master’s degree in film music (MAAAV) in Lyon II in 2019. He has scored short films and TV series such as ‘Maktoub Akaya’ (K Media) 2022\, ‘Balto’ (Watch it)\, and ‘Omar Affendi’ (Shahid).
\nWhile th e oud is usually positioned as solo instrument or takes the melodic lead i n a traditional Arabic ensemble\, Abozekry collaborates with musicians acr oss musical spaces – from jazz to Roma bands\, western classical orchestra s\, and electronica. He creates new compositions and the techniques to pla y with others in these diverse landscapes.
\nAbozekry has released f ive albums to date including “Chaos” (Rue Stendhal – 2013) and ‘Ring Road’ (Jazz Village – 2015) with his French jazz band\, HeeJaz. 2018’s ‘Karkadé ’ (Jazz Village – 2016) was a trip back to the source with a team of tradi tional musicians in Cairo\, a project that toured the U.S. ‘Trio Abozekry’ (Molpé Music – 2018) features a collaboration with his brother Abdallah A bozekry on sax\, and Nicolas Thé on drums. In 2024\, he released ‘Roh El F ouad’(Nile Waves)\, with a jazz sextet he formed in Cairo.
\nAbozekr y is bringing the oud into new musical spaces\, expanding the popularity o f the instrument and reminding us how ancient traditions continue to shape modern sounds. “I never move backwards\, but in a circular motion and ret urn to the place I started with more experience.” Mohamedabozekry. com and @m.Abozekry
\nThe Sextet
\nThe musical interests of Abozekry’s musical partners on this U.S. tour ar e equally wide ranging. Camille Maussion (Paris/saxophone) @camille.maussion\, George Nabil (Paris/keyboards) @george.nabilmusic\, André Segone (Paris/bass) @andre_segone\, Wadie Naim (Cai ro/percussion) @wadie_naim\, Ele Salif Howell (B rooklyn/drums) @elehowell\, Nazli Reda (Cairo/soun d engineer) @nazlis.noise
\n2025 U.S.Tour
Mohamed Abozekry Sextet is o n tour in the U.S. as part of Center Stage\, the cultural diplomacy progra m that hosted Abozekry’s Karkadé project in 2018. Their month-long tour in cludes stops in Tucson AZ\, State College PA\, Baltimore MD\, Lexington KY \, Wilmington NC\, Chicago IL\, Claremont NH\, Saugerties NY\, and New Yor k City.
\nSince 2012\, Center Stage has produced national tours by 4 8 groups from 19 countries\, hosted by colleges and universities\, festiva ls\, music clubs\, and cultural centers. Center Stage ensembles reach larg e cities and small towns. They engage with communities onstage\, offstage\ , and online through performances\, workshops\, and discussions\, artist-t o-artist exchanges\, master classes\, and community gatherings\, and retur n home to share these experiences with peers and fans. For this last editi on of the program\, Center Stage has invited alumni groups to return and s hare their work in communities from coast to coast. These are Khumariyaan (Pakistan)\, Papermoon Puppet Theatre (Indonesia)\, Mohamed Abozekry (Egyp t & France)\, and Kurbasy (Ukraine). Visit centerstageus.org for m ore information.
\nCenter Stage is a public diplomacy initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs with funding provided by the U.S. Government\, administered by the New Eng land Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the U.S. Regional Arts Or ganizations. General management is provided by Lisa Booth Management\, Inc .
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Producer
\nNew
England Adrienne Petrillo\, Interim Director of Program Strategy Ke
lsey Spitalny\, Interim Manager of Program Strategy
General Manager LB
MI\, Lisa Booth Management\, Inc. Deirdre Valent
e\, Principal Robert W. Henderson\, Jr.\, Production Manager Danielle Dybiec\, Nine Muses Travel\, Tour Advance Denise Wilck
e\, On Tour Company Manager
Tickets: https: //www.eventbrite.com/e/mohamed-abozekry-sextet-tickets-1409824185089.< /p> X-TICKETS-URL:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mohamed-abozekry-sextet-tickets- 1409824185089 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR
