Alaa Zouiten Trio ★ AFICIONADO – Flamenco Moro
MAGIC CARPET SESSIONS | Adventurous, intimate & crossing borders with music from around the world!
Thursday 19.11.2026 @ Mezrab

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AFICIONADO – Flamenco Moro brings together two traditions that are closer to one another than they first appear: flamenco and the Moorish-Andalusian music of Morocco. Alaa Zouiten discovered flamenco through Paco de Lucía and from 2015 travelled repeatedly to Andalusia to learn it — and in the process found his way back to the music of his own country. Flamenco palos supply the form, while the material moves freely between the two shores: a fandango opens onto an old Andalusian nuba, a tango turns North African in its rhythm, an Arabic samai leads into a soleá flamenca. The oud carries all of it. The album of the same name was released in April 2025 and awarded four stars by Songlines. In the trio format — oud, guitar and percussion — the music draws closer together, more chamber-like and more open to the moment. The boundaries fall and clear the horizon — for the beauty of music

“Alaa’s music bridges Maghreb and flamenco convincingly and at a high level.” — Songlines (UK), ★★★★

Alaa Zouiten — oud, composition (MA)

Alaa Zouiten is an oud player and composer based in Berlin. Born in Casablanca and trained at the Conservatoire National de Marrakech, he began his career in Moroccan fusion as a member of the Gnawa-rock band Jbara. Since then he has worked across jazz-rock, Arabic-Andalusian repertoire, flamenco, orchestral music and theatre: his debut Hada Makan (2012) was followed by Talking Oud (2015), supported by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, in which he pushed the sonic and technical limits of his instrument. As soloist and musical director he has worked with the Global Arabian Music Orchestra at the Berlin Philharmonie, with the Babylon Orchestra at the Bachfest Leipzig and at the Neuköllner Oper, where he appeared in Haydar Tanzt more than forty times; in 2025 he led the world premiere of Memories of Alhambra at the Royal Opera House Muscat. His album AFICIONADO – Flamenco Moro (2025) was awarded four stars by Songlines and has been performed at the Bienal del Flamenco in Seville and on tour in China, among others. His work rests on what he calls plaisir transculturel: the pleasure of moving between traditions.

Naoufal Montassere — guitar (MA)

Moroccan guitarist Naoufal Montassere lives in Berlin and plays a fusion of flamenco and Latin guitar with oriental influences, without either language losing its essence. The duo album Serendipia with Argentine guitarist Diego Romero appeared in 2021, followed by his solo album Osoul in 2022. In Berlin he also leads his own Naoufal Montassere Quartet.

Antonio Moreno “Pumuki” — percussion (ESP)

Antonio Moreno “Pumuki,” born in Cieza (Murcia) in 1972, came to flamenco by way of rock and metal, and spent eleven years in Madrid — eight of them at the tablao Cardamomo. He has played and worked with Enrique Morente, Tomatito, Diego “El Cigala,” Carles Benavent and Jorge Pardo, and is now a fixture of Berlin’s flamenco scene, notably with Azuleo. He teaches cajón and flamenco rhythm at Centro Flamenco Berlin.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQbgW_Hrg3c5rOSduijMeMg

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Doors open: 19:45
Concert: 20:30
Tickets: 14,50 EUR*
Student tickets (limited): 10 EUR*

*including 0,50 EUR bank fee