In 19 albums, Ibrahim Maalouf has gone from winner of the world's greatest international classical trumpet competitions to the most popular jazzman on the French music scene. Filling Istanbul's Volkswagen Arena, New York's Lincoln Jazz Center and Washington's Kennedy Center, in 2016 he became the first jazzman in history to sell out France's biggest concert hall, Paris Bercy's Accor Arena.
Spotted by living legend Quincy Jones and described as a "Virtuoso" by the New York Times, Ibrahim has collaborated in recent years with Wynton Marsalis, Angelique Kidjo, Melody Gardot, the Chronos Quartet, Trilok Gurtu, Josh Groban, Marcus Miller, Salif Keita, and many others.
In 2021 he appeared on Stephen Colbert's Late Show with Jon Batiste, who introduced him as a living jazz legend.
After participating alongside Sting in the reopening of the Bataclan in Paris, then paying tribute at his funeral to Tignous, one of the cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo murdered, then honoring the memory of the victims of the attacks of autumn 2015 during a national tribute by composing an anthem sung by the young Louane, the musician and composer of film music, multi-awarded (Victories of Music, Caesars, Lumières, ...) has become in a few years an essential artist and a symbol of intercultural dialogue to the point of being chosen to interpret the national anthem in front of 6 million viewers on July 14, 2021 at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
A look back at the story of Ibrahim Maalouf
Born in Beirut in 1980, Ibrahim Maalouf is today the most popular instrumentalist on the French music scene. His work in blending genres has been recognised throughout the world for more than 15 years.
His career has taken him to over 40 countries around the world and to the most prestigious venues.
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 promotes via the Los Angeles-based Quincy Jones Productions.
With his 11th studio album 'S3NS' in September 2019. Ibrahim will perform at the Olympia in Paris on 23, 24 and 25 September to a full house. These three dates mark the beginning of a series of Zeniths 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 others.
In 2021, Ibrahim composed the music for the documentary film "9 days in Raqqa" directed by Xavier de Lauzanne, which was selected at Cannes. He also composed the music for the Polish feature film "Leave no traces" by Jan P. Matuzsynski. He collaborated once again with Mohamed Hamidi on his new film "Citoyen d'Honneur", due for release in 2022. Since then, Ibrahim has composed some fifteen soundtracks for the cinema.
Ibrahim also composed all 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 was awarded a Molière for best one-man show in 2020.
On the occasion of the National Day of 14 July 2021, Ibrahim will close the great Paris concert 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 Orchestre National de France and the Australian conductor Simone Young.
Between 2007 and 2021, Ibrahim produced, composed, arranged and produced more than 19 albums for himself and other artists. He also composed more than 10 symphonic works, and produced on his own label Mister Ibé the artist Thaïs Lona, emerging singer of Pop-RnB music.
As a teenager, Ibrahim came top of the most important international competitions, which encouraged him to start a career as a classical soloist. From the 2000s onwards, spotted for the colours and singularity of his improvisations, he has been collaborating in all fields of music, namely pop, jazz and 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, the 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 teaching trumpet and improvisation at 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 classical music improvisation class at the Conservatoire Régional de Paris and at the Pôle Supérieur Paris Boulogne, and for several years has been developing a specific pedagogy for the teaching of classical music improvisation within conservatories. In March 2022, Ibrahim presented the Free Spirit Ensemble, which is the world's first classical orchestra specialising in classical musical improvisation. Since 2019, Ibrahim has also been the patron of the association Orchestre à l'École, 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.