Bouchaib Abdelhadi

A native of Casablanca, Morocco, Bouchaib Abdelhadi has had a distinguished musical career on both sides of the Atlantic. In the 1980s, as leader of the 'Orchestre Abdelhadi', he performed throughout the kingdom of Morocco. Since coming to the United States in the early 1990s, Mr. Abdelhadi has been a much-sought after multi-instrumentalist (oud, Moroccan violin, percussion) and vocalist of Middle Eastern and North African traditions such as al-Âla (Andalusian), gnaouan (Sufi trance), and chaabi. Recent career highlights include a 2002 collaboration with iconoclastic musician Pharoah Sanders on music for Alonzo King's Lines Ballet Company; in 2001, recording and performing with Omar Sosa, Stephen Kent, and Trance Mission; and critically-acclaimed performances at the 1998 San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. He has worked with artists from such diverse music traditions as klezmer, Hindustani, jazz, and rock, and has performed on the US tours of several famous North African artists including Rabbi Chaim Louk, Chaba Zahouania, Enrico Macias, and Cheb Nasro.