Dhafer Youssef
One of the world’s most influential oud players – navigating the space between Arabic tradition and modern jazz.
Dhafer Youssef has long been recognized as one of the world’s most groundbreaking oud players, but his music never stops at an instrument or a genre. With a four-octave vocal range, a sound rooted in Sufi mysticism, and an ever-curious drive to improvise, he has pushed the boundaries of both Arabic music and global jazz for over two decades.
His latest album Street of Minarets took five years to complete and features collaborators such as Herbie Hancock and Marcus Miller. It stands as his most personal and meticulously crafted work to date, created in dialogue with others rather than from pre-written compositions. In Youssef’s music, oud and voice are equal parts body and spirit. A fluid expression that moves between still devotion and ecstatic intensity.
For Stockholm Jazz Festival, he arrives with a brand-new quintet, carrying his sound into yet another chapter, where Arabic rhythms, the freedom of jazz, and a deeply personal musical vision meet in the moment. This is more than music: it’s a journey, a prayer, a breath.
Lineup:
Dhafer Youssef - oud, voc
Mark Priore - piano
Johannes Bär - trumpet, trombone, tuba.
Swaeli Mbappe - bass
Tao Ehrlich - drums