Al-Andalus Contemporary Andalusian Music, Art & Dance
"A delightful proposition of exquisite music" El Pais; Madrid, Spain
"The best example of cultural integration" YA; Madrid,Spain.
"A new musical language uniting East & West" Aramco World
"Full of musical gems, an Ageless mix!" The Oregonian

"These multi-talented performers achieve teleportation for the senses/ The haunting, soulful music they made lingered in my mind next morning" Pop Arts

Al-Andalus was a unique moment in world history where under Moorish rule, Muslims, Jews & Christians lived together in relative peace & harmony inspiring a calm exchange of ideas & cultural flowering.

We are a group of 2-9 artists (musicians, singers & dancers) The members of our group are from many diverse & contrasting cultures including North American, North African, Arab, S. Indian, Hispanic, Persian, Sephardic & Spanish communities.

We perform traditional works from these cultures with native artists as well as create new works uniting our cultural pasts, forging a graceful and distinctive ensemble sound that straddles continents in its cultural voice and centuries in its array of techniques. Jazz, progressive pop, and Asian & African music are all identifiable source points for the music, shadowed by the dark and persistent beauty and rhythmic surges of Spain's traditional Flamenco.

Al-Andalus is a music that eludes categorization. An instrumental ensemble effectively merging classical interplay & jazz improvisation with North African, S. Indian, Flamenco and Jazz melodies and rhythms. A most unusual new ensemble of International music for the most discriminating musical palette.

This Andalusian tradition is our creative inspiration: a thread connecting many musical and cultural traditions. What is especially unique about our group is that in addition to performing traditional work Al-Andalus also excels in composing contemporary works based on the Andalusian legacy. Our concerts are a creative journey that mirrors cross-cultural communication, subtly uniting sound & movement, merging poetry & fine arts, the old & new are entwined, captivating the audience with colorful intensity & beauty.

The performance group Al-Andalus can trace its beginings to Madrid, Spain where, throughout the 1980's Tarik Banzi moved in Flamenco, Jazz and Middle Eastern music circles. Tarik formed the group Al-Fatihah with Jewish musicologist Dr. Javier Sanchez, which has been recognized in Spain as the first group of Middle Eastern music.

At the same time Tarik was collaborating and recording with flamenco masters such as Paco de Lucia, Manolo Sanlucar, Enrique Morente, Jorge Pardo, Carles Benavent and Carlos Carli of the flamenco world where Tarik introduced such mainstays into the flamenco sound as the darbuka (dumbek) & ney.

In the late 80's Tarik & Julia formed the group Amal together with Maria Ahmed, Rasgui Boujemaa, together with Tarik & Rasgui's students Fain Duenas andVicente Molina. Fain & Vicente later went on to from the group Radio Tarifa.

Al-Andalus was then formally founded in the U.S. Tarik & Julia Banzi & Margarita Bruce in 1989. It has performed, given master classes, and offered lecture demonstrations to diverse audiences in Europe & the U.S.A.

We are a group of 2-9 artists (musicians, singers & dancers). The members of our group are from many diverse & contrasting cultures including African, Arab, Spanish Sephardic, Hispanic, Persian S. Indian communities. Respectfully uniting the past with the present, we perform traditional works from these cultures with native artists as well as create new works uniting our cultural pasts, forging a graceful and distinctive ensemble sound that straddles continents in its cultural voice and centuries in its array of techniques. Classical Arabic, African, Ladino, S. Indian, Jazz & progressive pop are all identifiable source points for the music, shadowed by the dark and persistent beauty and rhythmic surges of Spain's traditional flamenco music & dance.

Al-Andalus creates a new artistic language that unifies Eastern & Western cultures, generating a work that is rich, layered & socially conscious expanding the artistic horizons of both experts & novices alike.