Despite the well-documented problems in the middle East, there are some fine young Palestinian musicians emerging onto world stage. Foremost amongst these oud virtuoso, Samir Joubran, who’s recent CD Tamaas managed to be both arrestingly fresh and rooted in the Arab tradition. It also featured some rarely-heard oud duets-played with his younger brother Wissam-and the intuitive interplay between the two siblings was a foretaste of things to come.
Now youngest brother Adnanjoins them in their new venture, “Le Trio Joubran” which makes its debut at this year at this year’s WOMEX expo. The oud is clearly in the family blood and father Hatim is the latest in a long line of master craftsmen of the instrument.
Whilst the future lokks bright for them in Europe, travelling to concert bookings in the Arab world is made far more complex by a quirk of bureaucracy- they are Arab who hold Israeli passports. The irony of the situation is particularly cruel for Samir: whilst he was performing a concert in Paris for UNESCO, the Israeli army bombed his house in Ramallah.