Mahmoud “Mood” Chouki with Yusa- Live from the PinChurch, Thu June 27, 2024 8:30pm

Posted on June 18, 2024 by Mike

With special guest Yusa and others.

Mahmoud “Mood” Chouki (Morocco, 1984) is a master guitarist, multi-instrumentalist and composer currently living and working in New Orleans. His art draws together music from several different international contexts to explore how music may speak across cultural divides. His own compositions incorporate musical influences from across the globe, ranging from European classical, Andalusian from Southern Spain, Levantine music from the Middle East, Maghrebian music from North Africa, Latin American music, and Jazz from the United States. Integrating sounds and rhythms from many different cultures, Chouki combines classical guitar with instruments such as the loutar, a traditional instrument of the Middle Atlas region of Morocco; the sintir, a Sub-Saharan instrument from the Sahel region (Mali); the oud, an oriental lute; the Algerian mandole, a steel-string fretted instrument resembling an elongated mandolin; the Bağlama saz, a Turkish long necked bowl-lute; the banjo, and a variety of percussion instruments.

Chouki’s projects have led him to perform around the world, such as the Magic Lutes Concerts with composer Hughes de Courson and the Symphonic Orchestras in Qatar; Magic Lutes Concerts with composer Hughes de Courson and the Symphonic Orchestras in Bahrain; Pireneos Sur Festival in Sallent de Gallego, Spain; Snug Harbor in New Orleans, USA; Cafe de la Danse, Paris, France; Gwangju world music festival, South Korea; and Safar music series at the New Orleans Museum of Art

As artistic director of Rencontre Orient-Occident at Chateau Mercier in Sierre, Switzerland, Chouki organizes annual artist residencies, bringing together master musicians from the East and West. For one week they share and explore each other’s styles and cultures through music and experiences, which culminates in a final concert. He also currently teaches music at the Lycee Francais de la Nouvelle Orléans, and is Music Curator for monthly music programs at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Most recently Chouki composed the film score for the2021 Sundance award winning film, Ma Belle, My Beauty (directed by New Orleans based filmmaker Marion Hill). In 2021, he was awarded 2020’s “Best Emerging Artist” by Offbeat Magazine’s Best of the Beat Awards.

Regarded as a top Ambassador of 21st Century Cuban Music, guitarist, bassist, vocalist, lyricist, composer and tres player, Yusa is one of the leading voices of Cuban music today. Her compositions have earned the acclaim of both her contemporaries on the island and international admirers. Born in Havana, music and the ocean have been central to her artistic production as a singer-songwriter.

Yusa blazed trails in her early years as a member of the all-women quintet Quasi Jazz, cementing her voice in the jazz fusion world, but she is perhaps most well-known as the original musical director of the popular Cuban band Interactivo.

She signed to Tumi Music as a solo artist in 2002 and released a handful of albums to critical acclaim, including multiple CubaDisco and BBC Radio World Music Awards. In 2008, she founded her own recording label, YUSA Music, on which she released her 5th album in 2012. She will be releasing her 6th album in 2023.

Yusa brings her vibrant blend of trova, son, pop, jazz, Cuban and Brasilian rhythms to the stage and leaves the audience always wanting more. She draws the listener in with her uncommon and very personal style, integrating Cuban styles with music from around

This is a very special, private venue, with many wonders and surprises. Only a limited number of tickets will be available. This will also be professionally filmed and recorded.