Moneka Arabic Jazz

Moneka Arabic Jazz aims to bridge cultures and create a dynamic space for musical collaboration and exploration. It draws upon bandleader Ahmed Moneka’s Afro-Iraqi heritage and his journey from Baghdad to Toronto – with many stops in between. The septet seamlessly fuses jazz and blues with the style of Arabic music known as Maqam, as well as with choice African grooves and rhythms.

Welcomed with open arms into Toronto’s culturally diverse music scene, Moneka is also a member of the border-hopping band Moskitto Bar and the watershed Canadian Global Orchestra Kuné. Ahmed says, “I got inspired by a lot of different backgrounds—Cuban, jazz, Balkan, African, Asian music, and I also like Canadian music. I thought I had something to share…And it was my Iraqi African heritage, which is embodied in Moneka Arabic Jazz.”

In addition to being an outstanding musician, Moneka is an award-winning theatre and film actor, who, when he lived in Baghdad, studied at the prestigious Academy of Fine Art. During his formative years there, he also learned Afro-Sufi singing and drumming in the tradition of his family, who came to Iraq from Kenya in the 8th century. And he began to be deeply moved by stories of human struggle and freedom.