John Kameel Farah

At a concert by John Kameel Farah, you are hurled through the centuries and catapulted back and forth between continents: Born in 1983, the Canadian belongs to a generation of pianists who do not feel at home between their love of Bach and electronic Frickelsounds, improvisation and notated music, but rather thrive in this tension. The son of Palestinian parents studied composition at the Toronto Conservatory, took private lessons with Terry Riley in California and at the Arabic Music Retreat in Hartford. You can hear all these influences. In the midst of piano, organ, harpsichord, synthesizers and electronic devices, he sits like a magician in his impressive solo shows, masterfully combining sounds from the most diverse stylistic worlds, layering them over and under each other, setting them in motion. For example, a baroque motif can transition into an oriental arabesque, while drone-like layers of sound lie underneath and a breakbeat suddenly kicks in, transforming the piece into a world music dance track that ultimately ends as a minimalist meditation. He himself calls his "peculiar approach" "maximalist" - or, even better, "baroque-mid-eastern-cyberpunk". Anyone who experienced his two concerts at Enjoy Jazz a few years ago will definitely not want to miss John Kameel Farah's latest magical experimental trip.