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Born in 1980 in Beirut, Ibrahim Maalouf grew up surrounded by music, with a trumpeter father and a pianist mother. The family, who fled the war, settled in France
The young boy began to learn the trumpet there at the age of seven. In parallel with his brilliant musical studies, he exercised his talent in numerous competitions where he most often won. He never put his trumpet down, a unique model invented by his father. Unlike the classic models, it has four valves, which allows the musician to play the quarter-tones characteristic of oriental music. The man whom the New York Times would later describe as a prodigy began his career, diploma in hand and already acclaimed by the greatest. He played with Matthieu Chédid and Amadou and Mariam. At the age of 26, he founded his own label on which he released his first album in 2007, “Diasporas”. It was followed by “Diachronism”, “Diagnostic” and “Wind”.
In 2010, he won France’s Victoire du Jazz award as instrumental revelation of the year. The general public discovered him at the 2014 Victoires de la Musique, during which he won a victory for his (already) fifth album, “Illusions”. Two years later, he became the first jazzman in history to play to a sold-out crowd at the Accor Arena in Paris Bercy. One more record for the musician for whom everything seems to succeed.
In 2019 he released “S3NS”, followed a year later, on the eve of his 40th birthday, by “40 Melodies” which gave pride of place to duets notably with Sting, Richard Bona and Matthieu Chédid. Ibrahim Maalouf also composes film scores, notably for “Citoyen d’honneur”, “Yves Saint Laurent” and “Leave No Traces”.
Malouf: Teaching and improvisation
In 2021, during the French National Holiday, he performed his own version of “La Marseillaise” in front of six million viewers, accompanied by the Orchestre National de France and conductor Simone Young – an honor for someone who has always mixed genres. In parallel to his career, he also dedicates himself to teaching trumpet and improvisation. For example, he created the first classical musical improvisation class at the Conservatoire Régional de Paris.
In 2022, he unveiled the Free Spirit Ensemble, the first orchestra in the world specializing in musical improvisation. The transmission of his art is also done in the family. During recent concerts his daughter Lily has appeared with him on stage. Two years ago, he released “Capacity to Love” and more recently “Trumpets of Michelangelo”, in which the musician pays tribute to his father and his quarter-trumpet. “It’s a bridge between East and West. It allows me to express everything I have inside me,” he confided when the record was released.
