Original Music/Composer

Bassam Jalgha: born in December 12, 1986, towards the end of the Lebanese civil war, in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon.
As a child, I used to accompany my father to Beiruty coffee shops and restaurants; it is there when I first heard its whispers. Pure seduction, I couldn't resist. Somehow, I felt destined to play the Oud.

It was at the age of 11, when my parents got me my first Oud and I joined the Lebanese National Conservatoire. Now, eleven years have passed and I still feel the magic each time I hear the instrument played. Lebanese oudist Marcel Khalife was my first big influence, and then my taste was refined by the divine subtlety of Anouar Brahem's touch and Simon Shaheen's virtuosity on the Oud.

I never considered Oud and music as a career rather as an ultimate form of expression.

It took me plenty of time and meditation to begin acquiring the art of Taqsim, the near-eastern improvised form of music. Taqsim, the way I see it, is sincere; it has no boundaries, and no taboos. In this unjust and chaotic world, Taqsim is the corner where time is blurry and space is immaterial, and where my ideas, emotions and existence are reduced to a spontaneous sound.
I explored the limitless possibilities of my Oud by performing with many bands and styles, from political music to classical, oriental and jazz.