My Friend Issa Noor

I’m always delighted when Issa Noor comes to Boulder to teach and play in our Kirtan Leader trainings. We have a great ongoing conversation going about music, life and what it means to be alive at this moment in time.

Check out this fun video of Issa demonstrating a number of Middle Eastern percussion instruments.

ABOUT ISSA MALLUF

Palestinian-American percussionist, Issa Noor, is a native to New Mexico. Originally self-taught, Issa has become a highly skilled and internationally recognized specialist in Middle Eastern, Arabic, and North African percussion. He has performed nationally and internationally at venues as noteworthy as the Kennedy Center and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Issa has recorded with artists including Grammy winning oud virtuoso Rahim Al-Haj, guitarist Peter Buck of R.E.M., and Eastern European, Balkan, and Turkish influenced ‘A Hawk and a Hacksaw’ among many more.

He is frequently sought after due to the clarity, precision and complexity/simplicity of his drum work and rhythms. Based out of his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Issa’s passion for music continuously expands. Respectful and engaging, Issa is a natural teacher and has instructed and inspired all levels of drummers. He teaches workshops locally and has taught as a guest instructor at Yale and the Chicago School of Music.

Though his primary genre is Arabic/Middle Eastern percussion, Issa is knowledgeable in an array of percussion styles from around the world and is ever expanding in to new territory and understandings through both study and travel.