Trio Samara plays modern and traditional music from the Middle East and from Scandinavia. The repertoire consists of Arabic music, sufi meditational music and Nordic traditional music such as polska and halling. The Arabic lute, the oud, embraces and challenges the saxophone and the bass in this brilliant trio.
Ahmad Al-Khatib plays the oud. A Palestinian refugee, raised in Jordan, where his father is a poet, Ahmad was brought up in the oriental culture where music and poetry play important parts. In the Middle East Ahmad is a much sought-after virtuoso oud-player and he tours all over the world.
Sten Källman plays the soprano saxophone. He plays traditional music with Nordic and Haitian roots. Sten has devoted his life as a musician to connecting different musical traditions, for example in the groups Simbi and Den Fule.
Stefan Bergman plays the electric bass. He has a strong connection to Cuban and West African music as well as to Nordic music. He also plays with Simbi and Den Fule.
All three members in Trio Samara teach at the World Music Department at the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg.
Guest musician: Youssef Hbeisch, oriental percussion