Ayman Fanous Residency at ShapeShifter Lab

Ayman Fanous has been described as a “master musician/composer pursuing the most imaginative alternatives to the status quo… who has honed distinctive and unconventional methods on both guitar and bouzouki, managing to synergize classical, flamenco, and free jazz techniques” (Karl Ackerman, allaboutjazz.com). His signature sound has been described as a “stylistic amalgam of Derek Bailey and Paco de Lucia” (Jay Collins, Signal to Noise).

In addition to the guitar, Fanous also reaches back into his Egyptian ancestry in improvisations on the bouzouki. This is informed by many years of absorbing influences from the musical traditions of the Arab world, Turkey, India, North Africa, Persia, and the Balkans. More recently, he has developed extended electric guitar techniques using a slide. He has led duos, trios, and quartets with numerous world-renowned jazz and improvisational musicians including Bern Nix, William Parker, Jason Hwang, Tomas Ulrich, Mark Feldman, Frances-Marie Uitti, and many others....

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Ayman Fanous has been described as a “master musician/composer pursuing the most imaginative alternatives to the status quo… who has honed distinctive and unconventional methods on both guitar and bouzouki, managing to synergize classical, flamenco, and free jazz techniques” (Karl Ackerman, allaboutjazz.com). His signature sound has been described as a “stylistic amalgam of Derek Bailey and Paco de Lucia” (Jay Collins, Signal to Noise).

In addition to the guitar, Fanous also reaches back into his Egyptian ancestry in improvisations on the bouzouki. This is informed by many years of absorbing influences from the musical traditions of the Arab world, Turkey, India, North Africa, Persia, and the Balkans. More recently, he has developed extended electric guitar techniques using a slide. He has led duos, trios, and quartets with numerous world-renowned jazz and improvisational musicians including Bern Nix, William Parker, Jason Hwang, Tomas Ulrich, Mark Feldman, Frances-Marie Uitti, and many others.

Fanous returns to ShapeShifter Lab on November 30 with three ensembles comprising some of the most powerful and original improvising musicians in New York. Each set will premier a different ensemble, and will include first meetings with both Elliott Sharp and Darius Jones

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