Anouar Brahem

Anouar Brahem, born in Tunis in 1957, rebuilt the oud's place in contemporary music: not as accompaniment or ornament, but as a lead compositional voice. Since his 1991 ECM debut Barzakh, he has recorded a catalog that sits between Arab classical tradition, jazz, and European chamber music.

Albums like The Astounding Eyes of Rita and Blue Maqams — the latter with Dave Holland, Django Bates, and Jack DeJohnette — made him one of the few Arab instrumentalists with a devoted global concert audience that follows the writing, not just the virtuosity.