NAÏSSAM JALAL

Victoires du jazz 2019 | Jazzahead 2022 | Womex 2021

“If there is an artist in France inhabited by the consciousness of the immense, the unrepresentable Syrian disaster, it is Naïssam Jalal. Angry, bruised, stunned, horrified or focused on the memory of a culture that is now devastated, her music appears as a direct projection of her soul, a vivid painting of the feelings that animate him. But even despair always gives way to the enthusiasm and appetite of the flautist."

Les Inrocks (FR)

"compositions of great melodic richness, undulating grooves, precious harmonies referring to the music of the Middle East and a some modal lyricism wich reminds us in turn the nomadic music of Don Cherry and the obsessive mystical jazz of John Coltrane."

Jazz Mag (FR)

" you know when you hear something and it just takes you away, just something different about it, which you haven’t heard before and you just want to find out more, discover more… I got that from Naïssam Jalal. "

Gilles Peterson / BBC 6 (UK)

Naïssam Jalal has been revealing a personal and vibrant musical universe giving new meaning to the word freedom, both in substance and in form. In a continual search with boundless curiosity, she shines by her virtuous capacity to weave the bonds between different musical cultures and aesthetic fields.

Commitment through and in music, and creation in the service of commitment: these are the guidelines of her many artistic projects that have never ceased to surprise by their originality, their authenticity and their artistic qualities.

Landscapes of Eternity

Impressionistic repertoire based on Hindustani- and classical Indian music.

Healing Rituals

Bringing together Egyptian, Moroccan and American traditions

Rhythms of Resistance

Bringing jazz, classical music and Eastern music closer

Quest of the Invisible

Oscillates between contemplation and trance, silence and music

About

Born in Paris of Syrian parents, Naïssam Jalal studied at the Higher Institute for Arab Music in Damascus, where she studied the ney flute. Later, she moved to Cairo for a few years and enriched her playing with the greatest masters of classical Arabic music such as the great violinist Abdu Dagher and Fathi Salama, with whom she performed in the most prestigious theatres. She participated in the creation of the El Dor El Awal and Bakash groups. Between musical training and a quest for self, these years of initiation — in the noble sense of the term — formed the foundation of the artist as she has become today.

Back in France, she accompanied the Lebanese rapper Rayess Bek and the Egyptian oud player Hazem Shaheen. In 2009, she unveiled the Noun Ya project, a duet with oud and guitar player Yann Pittard, with whom she toured in France, Syria, Japan, Lebanon and Tunisia, and released the album Aux Résistances.

From rap to contemporary jazz, tango and afrobeat, Naïssam Jalal plays with everyone and avoids all musical categorisation. She has been found alongside the cream of African musicians on the Parisian scene: Cheikh Tidiane Seck, Mamani Keita, Kiala, Brice Wassi, Hilaire Penda, Fatoumata Diawara, Moh and Hervé Samb; or with big names in French and international jazz: Hamid Drake, Michael Blake, Médéric Collignon, Nelson Veras, Hubert Dupont and Mathilde Gross Viddal; in Arab music with Amazigh Kateb, Lena Shamamyan, Macadi Nahhas, Youssef Hbeish, Khaled Aljaramani and Ahmad Alkhatib; and with the Latin American musician and singer Melingo.

She has recorded with Abdoulaye Traore, Mohamed Diaby, Napoleon Maddox, Aziz Sahmaoui, Mike Ladd, Sébastien Giniaux, Aerophone Jazz Trio, and the Palestinian rap group Katibeh 5, and has composed music for two feature films (Karima Zoubir’s Camera Woman and Odile Demonfaucon’s In the hands).

Awards

First prize in Jazz category of the International Songwriting competition 2023

Victoire du Jazz 2019 (album Quest of the Invisible)
Grand prix of the Académie Charles Cros 2017

Showcases

Jazzahead! 2022

WOMEX 2021

Jazzahead! 2019

LIVE

LINKS

Website

Youtube

Instagram

Facebook

Spotify

CONTACT

hi@labestia.be

+32 485 60 12 06