Jamil Bashir was born in Mosul, Iraq in 1921 and is the brother of Munir Bashir. His father, who was a singer, oud player and oud maker, started to teach him the oud when he was around six years old. When the Iraqi Music Institute opened in 1936, Jamil enrolled to learn oud with Sherif Muheddin Haydar and violin with Sando Alio. He finished his oud study in 1943 and his violin study in 1946, graduating with honours degrees in both instruments, and then worked at the Institute as an oud and violin teacher. At the same time he became the head of the Baghdad Radio Orchestra and then the Baghdad Radio Music Department. He also wrote a two-volume oud method. Jamil Bashir was also a good singer, but he did not continue singing as he preferred the oud. He died in London on 24th September 1977. There are currently no CDs of his work available, but you can listen some audio files of his oud and violin playing at Zeryab.com

You can also hear Jamil Bashir on the "Rare Recordings" page at www.mikeouds.com

[Many thanks to Ahmed al-Salhi (Kuwait) and Juneid Jamil Bashir (USA) for biographical information and Ahmed al-Salhi for the photo of Jamil Bashir below.]