Omar Bashir carries on the tradition of his famed father, Munir Bashir, the reeminent 'ud (lute) player and one of the world's most esteemed cultural ambassadors for Arab music in the second half of the 20th century.

Omar Bashir was born in 1970 in Budapest, Hungary. He started playing the 'ud at 5, next to his father, Munir Bashir, the Iraqi virtuoso who first made the oud a solo recital instrument and popularized it in the West. At 7, Omar Bashir joined the Baghdad Music and Ballet School. He would eventually become a teacher there and set up his own band of 24 musicians specializing in traditional Iraqi music. They performed regularly across Egypt, Russia, Turkey and many Arabic countries.

Bashir returned to Budapest in 1991 where he joined the Franz Liszt Academy. Bashir has performed as a solo artist and in duets with his father until Munir Bashir died in 1997 on the eve of a tour of North America. His music mixes traditional Arabic music with a jazz-like improvisation.

Bashir currently resides in Budapest.

Official Web Site: www.omarbashir.hu

Live in Beirut (BR002)

To My Father (VDL701)

Omar Bashir

E-mail bashiromar@hotmail.com