Nai Barghouti w/Ruven Ruppik, Tord Gustavsen & Steinar Raknes

This year at Oslo World, we are proud to present a spontaneous meeting between four remarkable musicians, spearheaded by the young Palestinian singer, composer and flutist Nai Barghouti. 

Born in Jerusalem, Barghouti played her first concerts in Ramallah and Cairo at the age of 14, and has studied both classical music and jazz. In her studies, she explored the nexus between Arabic Tarab music and jazz improvisation, developing a distinct vocal technique, a wordless and highly ornamented style she has dubbed NaiStrumentation. 

Her virtuosity evokes legendary Arab singers such as Asmahan, Umm Kulthoum and Fairouz, and she has gone on to perform packed concerts in cities all over the world. She has a remarkably varied output, incorporating ballads, folk music, electronic landscapes and improvisation. And after a brief meeting with the Norwegian musicians Tord Gustavsen and Steinar Raknes a couple of years ago, it soon became obvious there was room to explore more. 

Pianist Tord Gustavsen is one of the most lauded and successful Norwegian jazz musicians of the last decades. His trio has become one of the defining ECM acts, and they perform for sold out concert halls all over Europe and beyond. As well as being a member of Gustavsen's trio, the bass player Steinar Raknes is one of the defining musicians of his generation. A stellar instrumentalist known from a long and varied range of jazz collaborations, as well as a burgeoning career as genre crossing solo artist and singer. Joining them on stage is Ruven Ruppik, a dutch percussionist with a highly original approach to drumming, ranging from classical techniques and jazz to a vast pallet of different traditional styles. At Oslo World this year, we are proud to present this intriguing project, capable of great beauty and unexpected moments of musical magic.