Tarek Yamani

Tarek Yamani, was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon in 1980. Self-taught, found himself exploring the road to Jazz on his own through theory books & Jazz records around the age of 19. Basic childhood classical lessons, guitars, heavy metal, hip-hop, Arabic &electronic music were all part of the musical journey that preceded the apparition of Jazz.

Since 2001, Tarek’s musical career grew versatile. He was a member of influential hip-hop band “Aksser”, he experimented extensively with electronic music and composed it for dance & theater performances.

By the age of 24, he was already playing in venues across Europe, the Middle East, the Gulf and North Africa. He performed Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music in local clubs as well as accompanying invited international jazz artists such as Wayne Escofferey, Rene McLean, and Chico Freeman.
In 2002, he co-founded “funjan shai”, a multi-style band which was featured in 2 releases and which introduced a distinctive approach in arrangement and production in the Middle East.

He holds a BS in Computer Science from the “American University of Beirut” & a BA (summa cum laude) in Jazz Piano from the “Prins Claus Conservatoire” in Holland. He is also a recipient of many prestigious awards such as the “Givanas Foundation” fund, the “Andrea Elkenbracht” award, the “Huygens” scholarship, and the “Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds” award.

Tarek was selected to perform in the semi-finals of the “2010 Montreux Jazz Piano Solo Competition”, the “2011 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Residency”. He is the grand prize winner of the “2010 Thelonious Monk Jazz Composer’s Competition” for his composition “Sama’i Yamani”.