Born and raised in Beirut, Tarek Yamani is a Lebanese-American, New York-based pianist who taught himself jazz at the age of 19. He has been dedicated to exploring relationships between African-American Jazz and classical Arabic music which are most evident in his second album Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic, and in Peninsular which fuses jazz with quarter-tones and the rhythms of the Arabian Peninsula.

A recipient of many prestigious awards such as the Thelonious Monk Jazz Composers Competition, the Baryshnikov Artist-in-Residence, the Huygens Scholarship, the Prins Bernhard Culture fund, and the Abu Dhabi Festival Commission, Tarek has been part of three editions of the International Jazz Day Global Concert and performed in venues such as the Smithsonian (DC), Barcelona Cathedral at La Merce (Spain), Atrium at Lincoln Center (NYC), Boulez Saal (Berlin), MuCEM (Marseille), the UN Assembly Hall (NYC), Melbourne Arts Center, Sejong Center for the Arts (Seoul), and Gran Teatro de la Habana (Cuba).

Tarek is also an educator, author of two self-published music books on rhythm and a film score composer of films screened in 100+ festivals around the world and broadcasted on AMC network, BBC and Sundance TV. 

“Trailblazing pianist transforms Khaleeji music.” — CNN
“A revelation… an organic hybrid of ecstatic proportions” — NYC Jazz Record
“Yamani plays jazz piano with more than a hint of Arab influence.” — The New York Times
“The pianist exploits the most expressive musical idiom of his adopted city (jazz) to explore, transform, transfigure and shed fresh light on the music of his rooted, real homeland.” – Time Out