Dhafer Youssef

Dhafer Youssef (ظافر يوسف; born 19 November 1967 in Teboulba, Tunisia) is a composer, singer and oud player. He developed an interest in jazz at an early age and clandestinely listened to it during his education at a Qur'anic school. He later left Tunisia to start a jazz career and has lived in Europe since 1990, usually in Paris or Vienna. He also works in avant garde and world music where he has been nominated for awards. He has released four albums of his own and also did notable work with Sardinian trumpeter Paolo Fresu and the Norwegian guitarist Eivind Aarset. He indicates an affinity for the music of India and Nordic music. He was a guest artist on the Norwegian jazz artist Bugge Wesseltoft's album FiLM iNG. Youssef has also performed with Uri Caine, Jon Hassell, Markus Stockhausen, Nguyên Lê and the Cuban pianist Omar Sosa. In 2001 he recorded Electric Sufi with the ex-Sugar Hill Gang and Tackhead rhythm section of Will Calhoun and Doug Wimbish.

Discography

 * Blue Planet - Peace for Kabul (with Lenny MacDowell and Hakim Ludin) (1997)
 * hot ROOM (also featuring Otto Lechner, Wolfgang Puschnig, Achim Tang) (1998)
 * Malak (1999)
 * Electric Sufi (2002)
 * Digital Prophecy (2003)
 * Odem (with Wolfgang Puschnig and Jatinder Thakur) (2005)
 * Divine Shadows (2006)
 * Glow (with Wolfgang Muthspiel) (2007)
 * Abu Nawas Rhapsody (2010)