Home » Jazz Musicians » Kinan Azmeh
Kinan Azmeh
Kinan has been touring the world as soloist, composer and improviser. Notable appearances include: Opera Bastille, Paris; Tchaikovsky Grand Hall, Moscow; Carnegie Hall and the UN’s general assembly, New York; the Royal Albert hall, London; Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires; der Philharmonie; Berlin; the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, Washington DC; the Mozarteum, Salzburg, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and the Damascus opera house for its opening concert in his native Syria.
He has appeared as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Qatar Philharmonic and the Syrian Symphony Orchestra among others.; and has shared the stage with Yo-Yo Ma, Marcel Khalife, Aynur, Daniel Barenboim and Jivan Gasparian.
His compositions include several works for solo, orchestra, and chamber music; film, live illustration, and electronics. His discography include three albums with his ensemble Hewar, several soundtracks for film and dance, a duo album with pianist Dinuk Wijeratne and an album with his New York Arabic/Jazz quartet the Kinan Azmeh CityBand. He serves as artistic director of the Damascus Festival Chamber Players, a pan-Arab ensemble dedicated to contemporary music form the Arab world. His is a frequent guest faculty at the Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music and is on the advisory board of the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra. He is also a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble with whom he was awarded a Grammy in 2017.
Kinan is a graduate of New York’s Juilliard school as a student of Charles Neidich, and of both the Damascus High institute of Music where he studied with Shukry Sahwki, Nicolay Viovanof and Anatoly Moratof, and Damascus University’s School of Electrical Engineering in his native Syria. Kinan earned his doctorate degree in music from the City University of New York in 2013.
Tags
Bob Gluck: Early Morning Star
by Jerome Wilson
On this release, pianist Bob Gluck mixes the realms of classical music and jazz in interesting ways. The formal, declarative music produced by Gluck, clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and vocalist Andrea Wolper is given flow and earthiness by the rhythmic pull of bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Tani Tabbal. The front-line combination fluidly rises and falls through pieces like the sparkling A Time of Singing," with Wolper singing words from the Bible's Song of Songs over surging piano, and ...
read moreBob Gluck: Early Morning Star
by Karl Ackermann
Composer/pianist/electronic artist Bob Gluck's musical repertoire is particularly diverse. Among his many electro-acoustic projects are the borderless duo album Textures and Pulsations (Ictus Records, 2012) with Aruán Ortiz, Tropelets (Ictus Records, 2014) featuring improvisations based on Jewish biblical chants, and Infinite Spirit (FMR Records, 2016) where he pays tribute to Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi Band. In the latter, Gluck brought in drummer Billy Hart and trumpeter Eddie Henderson from that relatively short-lived group. For Early Morning Star Gluck has brought together ...
read moreKinan Azmeh's CityBand Live At BIMHUIS Amsterdam
by BIMHUIS
Clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh is internationally renowned for his intense, spirited performances. The Syrian born musician uses music to transcend cultural barriers, performing with projects as diverse as Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble, the New York Philharmonic and Dutch trumpeter Eric Vloeimans. In 2006 he formed the CityBand, a four-piece band that strikes a balance between classical, jazz and music from his homeland Syria. Personnel: Kinan Azmeh: clarinet; Kyle Sanna guitar, Josh Myers bass, John Hadfield drums. ...
read moreMusicians for Harmony Concert: Kinan Azmeh at Saint Peter's Church (NYC) on March 20th
Source:
Seth Cohen PR
Musicians For Harmony Marks 6th Anniversary of War in Iraq with ‘Concert for Peace’ on March 20th Music of Syria, with Superstar Kinan Azmeh, is Featured at M4H’s First-Ever Mid-Year Concert On March 20th, Musicians For Harmony will present their first-ever mid-year concert, with a performance of Middle Eastern music by The Kinan Azmeh Quartet. Kinan Azmeh, a Juilliard-trained clarinetist, was born in Syria and performs classical, jazz and traditional Syrian music. The New York Times said his electrifying appearance ...
read more
Musicians for Harmony March 20th Concert Features Kinan Azmeh
Source:
Seth Cohen PR
Musicians For Harmony’s First-Ever Mid-Year Concert to Feature Syrian Superstar Kinan Azmeh March 20th Event, Part of ‘Day For Peace’ at Saint Peter’s Church, to Benefit Iraqi Student Project On March 20th, Musicians For Harmony will present their first-ever mid-year concert, with a performance of Middle Eastern music by The Kinan Azmeh Quartet. The event, part of the ‘Day For Peace’ ceremonies at Saint Peter’s Church in New York City, will benefit the Iraqi Student Project. The ‘Day For Peace’ ...
read more