Description
Born in Beirut in 1980, Ibrahim Maalouf is today the most popular instrumentalist on the French music scene. His work of mixing genres has been recognized all over the world for more than 15 years.
His career has taken him to travel to more than 40 countries around the world and to perform in the most prestigious concert halls.
During a concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2017, he was spotted by legendary producer Quincy Jones. Following this meeting, Ibrahim became one of the artists that the American producer regularly encouraged via Quincy Jones Productions based in Los Angeles.
With his 11th studio album “S3NS” in September 2019. Ibrahim will occasionally perform at L’Olympia in Paris on September 23, 24 and 25, sold out. These three dates mark the beginning of a series of Zéniths concerts throughout France as well as a world tour.
In November 2020, on the occasion of his 40th birthday, he released ” 40 MELODIES “, a unique album featuring many exceptional guests such as Sting, Kronos Quartet, Marcus Miller, Jon Batiste, Alfredo Rodriguez, Richard Bona , Matthieu Chedid, Trilok Gurtu, Hüsnü Senlendirici, Arturo Sandoval, and many more.
In 2021, Ibrahim composed the music for the documentary film selected at Cannes “9 days in Raqqa” directed by Xavier de Lauzanne. He also composed the music for the Polish feature film selected at the Venice Film Festival “Leave no traces” by Jan P. Matuzsynski. He is collaborating once again with Mohamed Hamidi on the occasion of his new film entitled “Citoyen d’Honneur” which is scheduled for release in 2022. Ibrahim has since composed around fifteen soundtracks for the cinema.
Ibrahim also composed all of the music for the show “Monsieur X” created by Mathilda May and performed on stage by the famous actor and comedian Pierre Richard. The play was a great success and in 2020 received a Molière for best solo on stage.
On the occasion of the National Day of July 14, 2021, Ibrahim closes the great concert in Paris dedicated to classical music by performing his own version of the Marseillaise alongside François Delporte and Frank Woeste, on the Champs-de-Mars and in front of more than 5 million viewers, accompanied by the Orchester National de France and Australian conductor Simone Young.
Between 2007 and 2021, Ibrahim produces, composes, arranges and produces more than 19 albums for himself and for other artists. He also composes more than 10 symphonic works, and produces on his own label Mister Ibé ” Dancing Again “, the artist Thaïs Lona, emerging singer of Pop-RnB music.
As a teenager, Ibrahim was at the top of the biggest international competitions, which encouraged him to start a career as a classical soloist. From the 2000s, spotted for the colors and the singularity of his improvisations, he connects collaborations in all fields of music, namely pop, jazz as well as in so-called “World” music. Exceptional artists such as Sting, Salif Keita, Amadou & Mariam, Tryo, Matthieu Chedid or Angélique Kidjo call on him to enhance their works. Recently, French pop-folk singer Joyce Jonathan called on Ibrahim to produce, compose and co-write her latest EP “ TOI ET MOI ”
At the same time, Ibrahim has been investing a large part of his time teaching trumpet and improvisation in conservatories since 1999. He has been invited several times by ITG (International Trumpet Guild) in the United States for concerts and masterclasses. . In 2011, he created the first class of classical musical improvisation at the Conservatoire Régional de Paris and at the Pôle Supérieur Paris Boulogne, and has been developing for several years a specific pedagogy for the teaching of classical musical improvisation within the conservatories themselves. In March 2022, Ibrahim introduced the Free Spirit Ensemble, which is the world’s first ever classical orchestra specializing in classical musical improvisation. Since 2019, Ibrahim has also been the sponsor of the Orchester à l’École association, which is made up of several thousand orchestras across France. The young musicians of the association are regularly invited to play with him during his shows.
In November 2021, Ibrahim Maalouf released his 15th studio album entitled ” FIRST NOEL “: an unprecedented project in which he brings 25 of the greatest Christmas classics up to date, in addition to 3 unpublished compositions.