Ziryab Trio consists of Taiseer Elias (oud), Nassim Dakwar (violin) and Zohar Fresco (percussion). "Mashreq Classics" was recorded live in the Jerusalem Theater during the Israel Festival in June, 1995. In this concert, the Ziryab Trio was accompanied by Avraham Salman (kanun) and Emmanuel Mann (bass) from their joined band Bustan Abraham. "Ziryab was a musician in Haroun Al-Rashid's court in Baghdad (Iraq) in the 9th century. He was called the 'Black Bird' and was an extremely gifted singer, oud player and composer ... He founded a music school which made its way to the Magreb (North Africa) and he became a model for every aspiring musician in the centuries followed. Taiseer Elias was born in the Israeli Arab village of Shfaram, Taiseer is the leading figure in classical Arabic music in Israel ... He holds a Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the founder of the Orchestra of Classical Arab Music in Israel and is presently the director of the music department of the Israeli Public Radio in Arabic as well as musical director of various television programs." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.