Faris Ishaq

Faris Ishaq is a Palestinian musician who plays the nay, a Middle Eastern reed flute, and percussion. This London performance premieres a new trio format of the project JASAD.

The nay is a Middle Eastern flute with a history of around 5,000 years. Made of reed cane, it has no mouthpiece or mechanism and responds only to the player's breath. The album JASAD, whose title is Arabic for "Body", treats the instrument as a contemporary acoustic landscape, and Ishaq pairs it with a frame drum worn on the leg.

Breath-led extended techniques and intricate rhythms form the core of the material. From a young age, Ishaq has been immersed in Dabke dance, and its earthy footwork feeds into the rhythmic improvisation of Tashbib, the nay tradition. The project explores the connection between breath, body and the living environment in an increasingly digitised world.

At the EFG London Jazz Festival, Ishaq premieres the new trio format of JASAD. Stone Nest is an arts organisation and performance venue in London's West End, presenting experimental art to a broad public.