(b Mosul, 1930; d Budapest, 1997). Iraqi ‘ūd player, brother of Djamil Bashir. He studied with al-Sharif Muhieddin Haidar at the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad and was also influenced by his elder brother . They both earned a living accompanying singers of the Iraqi maqām. From 1966 to 1973 he worked in Beirut as a producer, an arranger of folksongs and a musician in the ensemble of the Lebanese singer Fayrūz. During the 1970s Bashir's career took a new direction; under the influence of the musicologists Simon Jargy and Poul Rovsing Olsen, he limited his playing to solo improvisations (taqsīm), which brought him international recognition. In 1973 he became an artistic consultant to the Iraqi government, and was appointed head of the newly constituted Department of Music of the Ministry of Culture and Information. He regrouped the existing musical institutions within the department and centralized the process of making decisions, and also created some official troupes. His position helped to bring him worldwide contacts and the possibility of an international career; he gave recitals in about 50 countries and received numerous honorary positions, degrees and state medals. Bashir's music depends extensively on the melodic material of the Iraqi maqām; by treating this material through improvisations and using the techniques of the Sharif school, he initiated a new trend in ‘ūd playing, achieving al-Sharif Muhieddin's goal of developing a new role for the instrument beyond its use in vocal art. Bashir's music has been diffused through numerous recordings).
SCHEHERAZADE QASSIM HASSAN