North American Representation outside Quebec
Ibrahim Maalouf
Ibrahim Maalouf
• Over 300,000 albums sold globally
• More than 600 concerts since 2007
• 2014 Best World Music album for "Illusions" at Les Victoires de la Musique
• 2013 Artist of the Year by The Victoires du Jazz
• 1st prize of the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris
French-Lebanese trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf balances on the border of various genres, from jazz, rock, classical and pop to world music. Moving many a heart while doing so. UNESCO recently honoured him as a "Young Artist for Intercultural Dialogue between Arab and Western Worlds". In 2013 he was hailed Artist of the Year by The Victoires du Jazz (the influential French equivalent of the Grammys) and in 2014 he sold out the prestigious Henry Le Boeuf Hall (Bozar) in no time at all.
After a prestigious classical career with several international awards (France, Hungary, Finland, USA), including the 1st prize of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, Ibrahim became a well-known figure on the music scene thanks to his collaboration with singers such as Sting, Amadou et Mariam, Lhasa de Sela, Salif Keita, Vanessa Paradis and many others who wanted to use his sound and his unique playing style to color their music. Ibrahim was rapidly recognized by the Jazz world and his five albums were unanimously acclaimed by the national and international press. In 2013, Ibrahim Maalouf was the French instrumentalist with highest sales in France over the previous three years.
Ibrahim also composes music for Cinema. In 2013, he composed the soundtracks of “Smart Ass” (Kim Chapiron), “Yves Saint Laurent” (Jalil Lespert) distributed by Harvey Weinstein in the USA, and “Red Rose” (Sepideh Farsi). Ibrahim also composes music for symphonic orchestras and different ensembles and teaches improvisation in the Conservatoire Supérieur in Paris.
In autumn 2015 he released two albums on the famous Impulse label, both inspired by the most famous and still much loved Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum, who left us 40 years ago. "Kalthoum" is a celebration of women who overturned the course of history, women whose artistic influence has had an impact reaching all the way down to our lives today. Kalthoum is an adaptation of Oum Kalthoum's "Alf Leila Wa Leila" and sounds mainly acoustic. "Red and Black Light" is an ode to the woman of today and their essential role in the hope of a better world. The style is always rooted in jazz, but is nevertheless much closer to pop. "This new project is very exciting for me. I'll be playing with 3 extraordinary Belgium musicians - the incredible drummer of the jazz band Aka Moon, Stephane Galland, the multi awarded Eric Legnini on keyboards, and the guitar player who plays with me since many years François Delporte. All three will be helping me put together my compositions inspired by the Egyptian famous Diva, Oum Kalthoum. The musical mood is a mix between the strong Arab influence of her voice, the strength of the electronic technology we are lucky to use in the 21st century, and the freedom that jazz offers. All these energies gathered into one set, peaceful but yet full of power and trance."