Farid Ali a.k.a Mr. Gambus

Gambus prodigy Farid Ali is a trained guitarist who was exposed to the gambus as a child. The gambus is a pear-shaped string instrument that plays an important role in Malay folk music in Malaysia, specifically in a musical style called Zapin.

As far as gambus advocates go, Farid is among the few originals, using the entire potential of the instrument to wind through endless arrangements – by turns funky, swinging and sublime – all in enjoyable tones.

Having performed at many jazz festivals, concerts and tours, Farid has won numerous international awards from the Best Arranger Award 1988 at the Curacao International Song Festival, to the World Peace Award 1993 awarded by the president of the World Peace Movement of Japan, Toshio Hayama.

With fantastic credentials like these, it is no doubt that his music is one of a kind. Being an Asian and a Muslim with a Western outlook in life has resulted in his yearning for a better understanding of his own culture – a desire that has ultimately resulted in this unique combination of traditional Malay and Western music.

Farid has three albums under his belt – No Strings Attached, Back to Basics and Turning Point: Gambus Goes Jazz.

His third album, Turning Point, is a personal journey that reflects his own life experiences. It is an album compiled with love and passion, and was produced to touch the lives and hearts of people. It is an album that begins with a ripple, and ends with a wave of awareness – truly a gift of the ages.