Rami El-Aasser

Rami El Aasser is a New York City based percussionist playing the riq, deff, and tabla (aka dumbek or darbukah). Rami started out playing snare drum in the Liberty High School Grenadier marching band of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania but eventually he found an Egyptian tabla in a home closet. On the great lakeshore of Evanston and later the pine forests of Sisters, Oregon he explored the voices of this drum; early audiences included far off Indiana across the water, the Three Sisters volcanoes, and a seemingly attentive cattle herd at the Lazy ‘Z’ ranch, respectively. Eventually, in 1999, Rami came to find some teachers in New York City and the Middle East. Since then, he has had the pleasure to study and perform with some contemporary percussion masters, including Said el Artiste, Ashraf El Din Hassan, Hamish Henkish, and Raquy. He performs at concert halls, cafés, theatres, clubs, and festivals throughout North America, Eastern Europe, and the Near East with groups such as Zikrayat, Raquy & the Cavemen, Alsarah and Sounds of Taraab, Alhambra, and Cafe Antarsia Ensemble.

Rami has performed at many international festivals including: Lallapalooza (2005), Central Park SummerStage (2002), Lincoln Center Out of Doors (2010), FloydFest (2005), Lowell Folk Fest (2010), Ashkenaz Toronto, the Alexandria Summer Festival (Egypt, 2009), Sibiu International Theatre Festival (Romania, 2005, 2008), and Novaja Drama Festival in Russia (2003), and has opened for the recording artists K’naan and Mos Def. Rami’s grooves also can be found on many recordings, soundtracks, and some live theatre productions. Rami holds a Masters degree from the Gallatin School at NYU, and a BS Sp from Northwestern University in Performance Studies and International Studies.