Yacine Boulares and Tarek Yamani Quartet “WAIYK” Concert

From Lebanese Dabke to the Tunisian traditions of Stambeli and Mezwed, musicians Tarek Yamani and Yacine Boulares bring Arabic trance rhythms and the harmonic and melodic flexibility of jazz together in a dynamic quartet featuring Jongkuk Kim on drums (Aaron Parks, Meshell, Dayna Stephens…) and Sam Minaie on bass (Tigran Hamassian, Dhafer Youssef…).

Yamani and Boulares are amongst a handful of Arabic musicians who have devoted their life to jazz. Tarek Yamani lives between New York and Berlin and has been hailed a “trailblazing pianist” by CNN. Winner of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Int’l Jazz Composers Competition for his composition “Sama’i Yamani,” Tarek has been part of four all-star global concerts of the International Jazz Day and shared the stage with luminaries, such as Wayne Shorter, Richard Bona, Zakir Hussein, Esperanza Spalding, Antonio Sanchez, Brian Blade, and Vinnie Colaiuta.

Described by Radio France Internationale as “one of the most talented jazzmen of his generation,” Yacine Boulares has recently accompanied Archie Shepp for the re-creation of “The Cry of My People” in New York and has worked with the likes of Placido Domingo, Nasheet Waits, Vincent Segal, and Tabou Combo. He is also the co-leader of AJOYO with Sarah Elizabeth Charles & Jesse Fischer and the co-founder of Habibi Festival in New York.

Listen to a few tracks by Yacine Boulares & Tarek Yamani Quartet here: Ifriqiya, Baaltek and New Dabke

Yacine Boulares

Described by Radio France internationale as “a Tunisian man in New York, one of the most talented jazzmen of his generation” Yacine Boulares is a French-Tunisian saxophonist and composer based in Brooklyn.

After graduating from the Paris National Conservatory Yacine moves to New York on a Fulbright scholarship in 2009 to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary music. New York exposes him to a myriad of different musics. Soon he starts touring with Fela Kuti’s ex drummer Jojo Kuo and Haitian Kompa legends Tabou Combo. In their musics he finds a deep echo to his Tunisian roots.

These influences urge him to seek his own identity and his explorations of North & West African rhythms lead to the creation of AJOYO, a mystic brew of African tradition, jazz and soul. Yacine signs the music and lyrics of two albums that celebrates life, love and justice. (2015&2020)

In 2014 he is part of Placido Domingo’s Encanto Del Mar (Sony Classical). This is where he meets cellist Vincent Segal and gets the idea to explore the forgotten Tunisian Stambeli repertoire with drummer Nasheet Waits.

In 2015 Abu Sadiya is granted the French American Jazz Exchange grant, the Arab Fund for the Arts and Culture as well as the Brooklyn Arts Fund (2016 & 2018). The album was released in 2017 and hailed by Le Monde as “a glittering instrumental suite, all fluidity and golden colors”, the trio performed at Jazzahead in 2017 and their US tours included both the Lincoln Center and the Jazz Gallery.

In 2019 Yacine is selected to be a part of the Joe’s Pub Working Group to develop his newest project IFRIQIYA, a multimedia performance exploring the Afro Tunisian rhythmic traditions.

In 2021 Yacine co-founds the Habibi Festival in New York, a four day festival dedicated to contemporary Arabic culture.

Tarek Yamani

Born and raised in Beirut, Tarek is a pianist, composer, producer, and educator who is constantly stretching the edges between Jazz, Arabic music and Electronica.

Since the release of his debut Ashur in 2012, Tarek has been reinventing Arabic music within the framework of Black American Music in a genre often dubbed Afro-Tarab and most evident in his second album Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic.

Following the commission by the Abu Dhabi Festival, Tarek went on to research and write new music based on the largely unexplored rhythms of the Arabian Peninsula. The new work entitled Peninsular was released to critical acclaim and described as “a world- jazz heard nowhere else” (TSF Jazz), “striking, rather atypical, rich, varied… to urgently insert into your playlists” (Jazz Magazine).

Winner of the prestigious “Thelonious Monk Int’l Jazz Composers Competition” for his composition “Sama’i Yamani“, Tarek has been part of 4 all-star global concerts of the International Jazz Day and performed around the world in venues such as the Smithsonian Institute (Washington), Barcelona Cathedral, Atrium (Lincoln Center), Dubai Expo 2020, Boulez Saal (Berlin), MuCEM (FR), Gran Teatro de la Habana (Cuba), Melbourne Arts Center, and the Detroit Institute of Arts to name a few.

In October 2021, Tarek’s first string quartet “Berytus” which was commissioned by University Musical Society (Ann Arbor) was premiered by the Spektral Quartet part of the UMS Digital Artist Residency.

As a film composer, Tarek has scored numerous short films such as “I Say Dust”, “Like Salt” and “Tallahassee” which were screened in 70+ festivals around the world and were shown on BBC, Sundance TV and AMC Network.

As an author, he has written and self-published two books about rhythm: “Duple vs Triple: A Melodic Approach to Mastering Polyrhythms in Jazz and other Groove-Based Music in 56 Steps” and “The Percussion Ensemble of the Arabian Peninsula”.

Security Rules: Each person attending the event must have a ticket registered in their name and a government-issued ID that matches the name on the reservation to enter the Embassy. No one will be admitted without a reservation and official ID. Due to strict security measures, please arrive on time, as doors close at 7:30pm sharp. Please allow for extra time for security screenings.

This event is organized by the Institut Français USA – Villa Albertine and the Resources USA Foundation. Resources USA Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization promoting collaboration between the US and France to encourage Innovation in Science, Technology, Culture, and Higher Education. Our organization is able to continue its mission because of your support and generosity for our events at Maison Française, whether it’s a one-time gift, a monthly contribution, or part of a matching gifts program. Please contact us for contributions exceeding $250.