SHUSMO | Arabic Latin Funk
Tonight, SHUSMO brings Arab maqam into a vibrant encounter with jazz improvisation, funk grooves, Latin rhythms, and contemporary experimentation. Led by Palestinian composer and buzuq player Tareq Abboushi, the band creates a sound that is intricate, rhythmically charged, and unmistakably its own.
7:00 PM to 8 PM (First Set)
Admission: $20: Cover at Mezzanine
Featuring:
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Lefteris Bournias — Clarinet
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Hector Morales — Drums & percussion
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John Murchison — Bass
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Zafer Tawil — Percussion
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Tareq Abboushi — Buzuq, vocals, electronics, compositions
About SHUSMO:
SHUSMO is a genre-defying ensemble founded and led by Palestinian composer and buzuq player Tareq Abboushi. Rooted in Arab music and the modal language of maqam, the band creates an adventurous contemporary sound in which intricate Middle Eastern melodies and rhythms meet jazz improvisation, funk grooves, Latin percussion, rock, and elements of Western classical music.
At the center of SHUSMO’s sound is the buzuq, whose microtonal language interacts with clarinet, bass, drums, and percussion through arrangements shaped by rhythmic complexity, counterpoint, and improvisation. Rather than simply placing Arab melodies over Western harmony, SHUSMO brings distinct melodic, rhythmic, and improvisational traditions into a shared musical language.
The result is sophisticated yet visceral—music deeply connected to Palestinian and Arab traditions while remaining open to groove, experimentation, and unexpected musical encounters. Even the name SHUSMO—roughly “whatchamacallit” in Arabic—captures the ensemble’s refusal to fit neatly into a single category.
About Tareq Abboushi:
Tareq Abboushi is a Palestinian composer, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, and educator whose career spans performance, composition, recording, and music education.
After graduating with honors from William Paterson University with a degree in Jazz Piano Performance, Abboushi turned to the buzuq as a vehicle for exploring and expanding his musical language. He has since collaborated with internationally acclaimed artists including Simon Shaheen, Omar Farouk Tekbilek, Souad Massi, Abeer Nehme, Lotfi Bouchnak, Amir ElSaffar, and Grammy Award–winner Dan Zanes.
His work as a composer extends across concert music, electronic music, film scoring, dance, radio, television, and commissioned soundscapes for visual-art projects. His discography includes two albums with SHUSMO, five with Amir ElSaffar, and numerous other collaborations, including three recordings with Dan Zanes. His album Henna reached No. 1 on the Transglobal World Music Chart in August 2021.
Abboushi is also an experienced international educator. His teaching encompasses Arabic maqam and Western music theory, buzuq, piano, ensemble performance, and Arab music. He has taught and lectured at institutions including Columbia University, The Juilliard School, Birzeit University, Agder University, the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, and the Museum of the City of New York.
His awards and grants include support from the Tampere Culture and Leisure Committee and MES, as well as second place in the composition category of the Palestinian National Music Competition. He is currently based in Finland.