Joseph Tawadros is a leading oud virtuoso, composer, and eight-time ARIA Award winner, celebrated worldwide for his extraordinary technique, deep musicianship, and joyous storytelling on the oud, the Arabic lute and ancestor of the modern guitar.
Born in Cairo, Tawadros has transformed the oud into a globally recognized instrument, performing in concert halls across the world as a soloist, in duo with his brother James on Egyptian percussion, with his jazz quartet, or alongside chamber and symphony orchestras.
Tawadros has collaborated with jazz luminaries including John Abercrombie, Jack DeJohnette, Bela Fleck, John Patitucci, Mike Stern, Richard Bona, Joey DeFrancesco, Fathy Salama, and Christian McBride, and with classical artists such as Richard Tognetti, William Barton, The Grigoryan Brothers, Christian Lindberg, Gurrumul, and James Crabb. His music has featured in films and television including Ali’s Wedding, The Black Balloon, House of Cards, and The Water Diviner.
Recent highlights include premieres with the Britten Sinfonia, a sold-out Australian Chamber Orchestra tour, performing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and a record-breaking 25-hour continuous oud performance in London for charity. A Member of the Order of Australia and recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in Music, Tawadros continues to push musical boundaries, blending jazz, classical, and world traditions into exhilarating, genre-defying performances.
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Review: John Shand, Sydney Morning Herald IMPROVISATION Joseph Tawadros & James Tawadros
LIVE AT ABBEY ROAD (josephtawadros.com)
★★★★½
This album contains a new peak in Joseph Tawadros' career: a free improvisation called Father, Where Art Thou (for his late father). With each listening its effect intensifies, as if it has depths too emotionally profound to absorb on just one hearing. Exquisitely recorded in London's fabled Abbey Road Studios, the initial motif from Tawadros' solo oud is developed quite daringly, even as that development carries such a weight of anguish. The same motif is carried over into the ensuing That Night, That Room, this time with Tawadros' brother James joining on bendir (frame drum) so a slowish groove now bears that weight, and Tawadros initially lets his notes hang in the air more, before the two instruments' conversation heats up and the mood evolves. After several albums where diverse ensembles have realised intricately composed material, here Tawadros has the space and freedom to explore fresh vocabularies for the oud, while the brothers' rapport allows abundant music to bloom from the merest kernel of an idea. Both players have never sounded better, and that's lofty praise, indeed. JOHN SHAND Sydney Morning Herald August 2017