ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Jamal Mohamed has been a featured artist in many international music events having performed with Sting, Mark O’Connor, Giovanni Hidalgo and many other well known artists. He has presented percussion workshops at venues worldwide, including Berklee College of Music in Boston; the National Institute of Fine Arts in Mexico City; the Tokyo School of Music in Tokyo, Japan; the American University in Cairo, Egypt; the Center for World Music in Bali, Indonesia; and the University of Hong Kong, to name a few.
A native of Lebanon, Jamal grew up in the Chicago area, where he was exposed to rich blues and jazz traditions as well as the Middle Eastern music he heard at home. Known for his virtuosity on the doumbek, Jamal has incorporated many innovative jazz and Latin styles with this ancient instrument. He is acknowledged as a master craftsman and builds many of his own instruments. In 2010 Toca Percussion introduced the “Jamal Doumbek,” a signature drum he designed with Toca. In 2018 Toca introduced 5 new “Jamal” signature drums including riq (Arabic tambourine) and mazhars (Arabic frame drums).
Jamal was one of the founding members of the percussion group Ddrum, the 2010 winner of Drum magazine’s award for best percussion group. The group has been featured in two documentaries, one an Emmy award winning PBS short film that documents their travels and observations as related to World Percussion and the other, “Gamelan DDrum”, directed by John Bryant, about the group’s collaboration with composer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Stewart Copeland of the “Police”, and the Dallas Symphony.
Jamal is currently on the faculty at the “Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University” where he teaches percussion, and directs the “Meadows World Music Ensemble” He is also the founder and director of SMU in Bali”, a study abroad program that explores the arts and culture of Indonesia. He is also active as a performer currently with World Music group, “Mandala” and the improvisational group “Drum and Wind”.
Jamal Mohamed plays and endorses:
Toca Percussion
Sabian Cymbals
Pro-Mark drum sticks
ABOUT THE CLINIC / PERFORMANCE: Middle Eastern Percussion (Rhythms and Techniques) Using Ancient Instruments in Contemporary Music
This session will explore the use of Middle Eastern percussion instruments, primarily doumbeks and frame drums in contemporary music. Traditional rhythms and techniques will be explained and demonstrated as well as the use of these instruments and techniques in Jazz, Latin and popular music. Topics will include: tonal variations, finger rolls, using odd meters, multiple drum setups, and drum solos.