Hamid Ajbar

Hamid Ajbar was born in Chefchaouen, Morocco. He began his musical studies from a very young age, accompanying his father to the local mosque in Rabat, where they were living at the time, and where he learned the basic rules of Quran recitation and chant. After moving back to Chaouen, he started to attend the weekly gatherings at the Sufi "Zawiyyas," where he came into contact with the spiritual qasidas and muwashahat poems by Sufi masters Ibn Arabi, Shushtari, Harrak, etc. At the age of 12, he began his studies of classical Andalusian chant and violin at the Conservatory of Chaouen, remaining there for six years. He then completed his studies in Tetouan and Rabat, where he graduated with maximum qualifications in the fields of Andalusian and Arab singing, violin, History of Andalusian Music and Repertoire, and the Arab and Andalusian Modes. He won the National Prize for Andalusian chant on several occasions.

After completing his studies in Rabat, Hamid Ajbar became a teacher of Higher Level music at the Conservatory of Chaouen. He was also chosen to form part of the National Orchestra of Andalusian Music directed by Mohamed Briouel. During this period, he collaborated with the Orchestra Brihi, founded by the great Abdelkrim Raïs, with Mohamed Bajadoub, Aïcha Redouane, Abdelfattah Bennis, and others. In 1996, he moved to Granada, where he soon began playing with several artists from the flamenco, Arab, and Ancient Music scenes. These include Paco de Lucía, José Mercé, Carmen Linares, El Lebrijano, Emilio Maya, Eduardo Paniagua, and Omar Faruk Tekbilek. After a few years' break due to personal reasons, he formed his own groups in Granada, including the Arab Flamenco fusion group CusCus Flamenco and Jinnan Al Andalus, a spiritual music ensemble, traveling extensively with both formations. He also collaborates as a solo singer with other musical groups.