Nizar Rohana Trio

Album Presentation: Safa
Time: 20:15
Venue: Beauforthuis, Woudenbergseweg 70, 3711 AB Austerlitz

Nizar Rohana – Ud
Tony Overwater – double bass
Ruven Ruppik – percussion

Tickets: https://podium-beaufort.nl/evenement/2024-12-06-nizar-rohana-trio/

This special concert presents two projects by Palestinian ud player Nizar Rohana: his recently released solo album Safa and his newly formed trio with Tony Overwater on double bass and Ruven Ruppik on percussion.

Safa (meaning “purity”) is the acclaimed ud player’s third album and his first devoted entirely to solo compositions for the ud. It is his most refined and intimate work to date, reflecting on his life’s journey with the ud and the road ahead. The album traces his deepening connection with the instrument, from his 2008 debut Sard (Story) to the 2016 release of Furat (Euphrates), his first trio album exploring the interplay between ud, double bass, and percussion.

Safa’s purity is expressed not only in the music, but also in his innovative interpretation of Arabic musical traditions.

Nizar recently re-formed his trio with renowned musicians Tony Overwater and Ruven Ruppik. In this concert, the trio will perform pieces from the album Furat, inspired by the flowing qualities of the Euphrates River, as well as new material from their upcoming album, scheduled for release in 2025. The work will explore Arabic and Middle Eastern traditions, while also finding inspiration in jazz and Western classical music.

The Culture Unlimited Festival is a celebration of diversity, art and intercultural exchange.
The festival organizes special concerts throughout the country, focusing on the rich traditions of the Middle East.

Nizar Rohana started playing the ud when he was 12 years old. He became a popular (and heard!) ensemble player and later performed frequently as a soloist. During the period of the 2nd Intifada and the Iraq war, he exchanged his homeland for Europe and finally settled in the Netherlands, where he now also teaches (Codarts, UvA).

Bassist Tony Overwater has been a prominent figure in the European music world for years. As a soloist, but also in companies. Arabic music has long enjoyed Tony’s attention. He has played with the Lebanese singer Rima Khcheich and the late Said Chraibi. But his work with Rembrandt Frerichs and Yuri Honing should not go unmentioned either.

Percussionist Ruven Ruppik is also broadly interested in music genres and styles. Flamenco, Mediterranean and Ottoman music, Latin and Brazil: he makes it all his own in a highly personal sound. Over the years he has played with Indian flutist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, flamenco singer Estrella
Morente, guitarist Paco Peña, Turkish flutist Kudsi Erguner and Palestinian musician Nai Barghouti.