Basel Rajoub

Basel Rajoub (Arabic: باسل رجوب‎‎) is a Syrian saxophone player with a difference. Aleppo-born and Swiss-based graduate of Damascus High Institute of Music, Basel is a consummate performer, skilled improviser, and highly original composer creating new music that is rooted in a thousand-year-old tradition. Basel is known for developing oriental music for the saxophone and is dedicated to helping his audience discover contemporary expression of myriad melodic modes of Arabic music. An innovator both on stage and in the studio, Basel performs as a solo artist and a leader of the Basel Rajoub Ensemble.

“…performing on instruments that are not native to the Middle East, this artist exemplifies the talent, achievement, and breadth of a rising generation of cosmopolitan Arab musicians who combine jazz, classical music, the microtonal subtleties and myriad melodic modes of Arabic music.”

“… their music represents a sublime mix of spontaneity and control rooted in a thousand-year-old tradition of improvisation. Such music could only have emerged from artists whose own musical journeys have zigzagged back and forth between the Middle East and the West in unique ways, creating music that is at once seamless and surprising.”

RMC Radio Monticarlo , music arrangements 2006

“Soriana is ‘our Syria’. A homeland we left behind, forced out either by a search or by circumstances. We head out thinking that we carry no baggage, completely unaware of the biggest gift our country has bestowed upon us. That gift is the gift of musical knowledge. It remains with me throughout many journeys, it soothes wounds and inspires creation, provides warmth and a platform of stability, images, aromas, tastes that water the mouth and inspire new creations still. This music is my gift to our Syria – Soriana.”

Soriana Project Contemporary Music from the Orient is a body of musical works by Syrian composer and instrumentalist Basel Rajoub. The project features collaborations with like-minded artists celebrating their heritage and paying homage to the gift of musical knowledge.

19/05/2016 Lebenon / Beirut - Sunflower theatre ,Springs Festival

21/05/2016 Tunisia / Tunis -Hamra theatre ,Springs Festival

25/05/2016 Switzerland / Geneva

26/05/2016 Switzerland / Bern ONO

29/05/2016 Switzerland / Zurich Moods

24/07/2016 France / Nasbinals dans le cadre du festival

02/05/ 2015 Switzerland Biel Théâtre de Poche

01/05/2015 2015 Switzerland / Martigny Caves du Manoir

27/03/2015 Switzerland / Geneva AMR Jazz Festival

05/10/2014 Austria / Vienna MuTh - Musik und Theater

04/10/2014 Switzerland / Geveva Dans Le Cadre Du Festival Jazzcontreband

04/08/2014 Italy / Quarna sotto Quarna un paese per la musica

02/08/2014 France / Chamonix Cosmo Jazz Festival

09/04/ 2014 Switzerland Cully Jazz Festival

29/01/2014 UK / London Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre

24/09/2016 France / Paris Institut du Monde Arabe

01/10/2016 Germany / Berlin Radialsystem

20/11/2015 UK / London - London Jazz Festival

2008 Khameer

2012 Asia

2016 The Queen Of Turquoise

http://www.jazzvillagemusic.com/#!/albums/108

• Roubama (2012), directed by Rakan Mayassi (Jordan). Feature film selection by Locarno Film Festival, Beirut International Film Festival
• Bb (2012) directed by Lamis Al Mouhammad (Syria)