As clarinet virtuoso Kinan Azmeh sees it, the ancient sounds of Arabic music never get old. “In our music there is always a continuum between the old and the new, between the traditional and the contemporary,” he explains. “But I don’t really see the differences. It’s not like we’re on a mission to re-promote this musical heritage. We’re just keeping our minds and ears and eyes wide open to the vocabulary we use on a daily basis.” Azmeh was raised in Damascus, Syria before he went to study at New York’s Juilliard school. Today he plays with western chamber music groups, jazz musicians and folkloric groups on tour around the world.

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