Dhafer Youssef - Free as a Bird with his “Echo” and Improvisation

Written by Michael Polychronis

From a small fishing village in Tunisia began the journey of the internationally renowned oud player, composer, and vocalist Dhafer Youssef. However, as often happens in these small communities with tight social frameworks, the seeds of centuries-old cultural fabric survive and are passed down, transforming into flourishing art in creative minds, enriching the present with elements of supreme creations! In the case of young Dhafer, this could not have happened in a better way!

Dhafer bin Youssef bin Tahar Maarref was born on November 19, 1967, in the fishing village of Teboulba in Tunisia. Fortunately, his family brought with it generations of muezzins, or chanters, who, though mostly self-taught, possessed the art of singing with great skill. His mother’s kitchen was the first room where young Dhafer began to sing, imitating whatever he heard on the radio. However, the space that ignited his talent was the local hammam, specifically its vestibule. That room had a secret that later became his trademark.

“When you enter the vestibule, its acoustics resonate, there’s an echo! And since then, it has become a precious instrument for me. This effect, not even the oud. Today, I use it as an opportunity to travel elsewhere. It became something like my personal scent, this echo (delay), like how a guitarist uses a pedal. It’s another way of thinking that was born from that small vestibule in the hammam. I believe a lot in predestined fate. Sometimes things happen and you have no idea why, but they must happen because you have a path to follow. Mother Nature, God, or something else helps you do it. Just open your eyes and mind and you can receive it,” the composer says in an interview.

The muezzin notices him and, moved, invites him to chant alongside him during prayer at the mosque. So, young Dhafer starts with a cheap plastic microphone. His first encounter with the audience remains etched in his memory forever. This is followed by his first encounter with the oud, at the Youth Center, as well as the bass and, more generally, the groove element, deeply intertwined with his young age. He quickly joins the National Tunisian Orchestra (a breeding ground for great artists where similar orchestras are found in all Muslim and African countries) under Mesbah Souli.

However, he quickly realizes that the opportunities and prospects offered by his village are more than limited. He leaves for the capital, Tunis, to attend the Nahj Zarkoun music school. But even here, the low quality of education leaves him dissatisfied. He decides to take the big step. He departs for Vienna to continue his music studies.

The multicultural environment of the European capital is suitable for a restless spirit like his. Academic education no longer seems to move him, and jazz and Indian music open up new spiritual horizons for him. He meets tabla player Jatinder Thakur, who “opened his home and heart to me,” as he admits. He immerses himself in Indian music. He remembers when he first heard the duo Zakir Hussain and Father Allah Rakha: “That was the MOMENT for me. Then I discovered jazz and it was easy to fall in love with it because of the freedom it offers.” He gets involved with local groups and quickly participates in countless jam sessions at local clubs. Of course, his first band, Zeyrab, was with Austrian percussionist Gerhard Reiter.

His first demo titled “Musafir” was released in 1996 and he presented it at the famous Vienna club Porgy & Bess. The success of that night ensures many more nights at the same venue. This also leads him to meet, among others, his future close friends and fellow travelers in art, the Franco-Vietnamese Nguyen Lee and the Italian trumpeter Paolo Fresu.

From his first solo album “Malak” (1999) to his latest work “Streets Of Minarets” (2023), Dhafer Youssef has nine releases with always noteworthy and different collaborators from around the world who share the same curiosity to explore the charming unknown paths of music: Zakir Hussain, L. Subramaniam, Dave Holland, Bill Laswell are just a few. Apart from official albums, he also participates in projects of musicians from around the world, and collaborations come from all five continents. Let’s not forget the music he has written for films such as The Amazing Spider-Man, Luna, and Gods and Kings.

He enjoys every moment and every new encounter. “For me, every album and concert is a journey, as I am a traveler circling the world with an oud and a backpack on my shoulder, seeking roots and inspiration. The journey, the contact, and the connection with people and the fusion of different cultures are always present in my music and reflect me and my journey.”

Dhafer Youssef is one of those artists who experience a deep, sacred relationship with their art. “In live performances, I am inspired by the moment. When I sing, I don’t think. I let myself be led, knocking on the door of the Unknown,” he confesses, and anyone who watches him perform can feel the ecstasy he exudes.

Of course, the oud also has a special place in his world. However, this is also a means for him to tell his own story. “With the oud, I’m not trying to show that it necessarily should have a place in jazz music. It must be creative, free from clichés and displays of orientalism, which I detest, meaning that musicians should not fall into the trap of exoticism.”

The virtuoso Dhafer has a special relationship with the oud because he happened to be born in Tunisia, as he would have had with the bass if he had America as his homeland, or the kora if he had been born in Central Africa. Every morning he wakes up, his “morning” consists of a few moments with his favorite instrument. “I believe that music is not the voice or the instrument you play. It’s more about what you have inside you. So you must have self-confidence and have a story to tell.”

Dhafer’s music is a very well-balanced blend of jazz and tradition, modern and classical, archetypal and “blood” genres. All the pieces are seasoned with the essence of jazz, yet they do not stray into lengthy improvisations, resulting in not tiring the more conservative listeners. On the other hand, tradition is so well-placed that it gives the stamp of origin and inspiration but also winks at a more open and cultivated international audience. The select collaborations on each album surprise with the breadth and prestige they bring to each recording. Nevertheless, the characteristic sound of the creator is evident, proof of how great musicians from all over the world respect his work and “serve” his vision every time. Yet he also allows room each time for new ideas, new orchestrations, and fresh touches through the collaborators he chooses.

Moreover, Dhafer considers himself a sponge that absorbs everything in his path. “What is important to me is the mystical and not the religious side of interpretation. I feel like a mosaic of everything. I enjoy life, free from criticism. Keep your mind free as a bird. That’s why I sing.”

Miles Davis is the “mentor” of the creator, although he had never met him. “He changed my life, made me truly dream. Every time I complete a work, I imagine him as the leader of the group. The one who had no limits.”

Dhafer’s voice is of the caliber of those who could interpret many genres of traditional music from around the world, from Native American rituals to Persian and Sufi genres. His characteristic “relative” could be the case of Stephan Micus, while his music could easily blend with that of “The Iasis” and the whole scene that developed in the ’90s and ’00s with the involvement of Greek and Mediterranean color in jazz landscapes. However, it is never too late since today there are Greek musicians who can merge with the “world” of the Tunisian creator.

“I could not be a musician if I were not interested in jazz, although I love all genres that can touch me as long as they are done with love and originality. However, what I love about jazz is the free improvisational process. With jazz on stage, you can be with anyone, enjoying every perspective of life. It could be African Americans, Europeans, Norwegians, Brazilians, or Indians, and they can create the same language while simultaneously seeking new expressions for it. And that’s what I love about this process: everyone understands that we are there to be surprised!”