Nai

Nai Barghouti is an award-winning Palestinian singer, composer, and flutist. From her first concerts in Ramallah and Cairo at the age of 14 through her packed concerts at the London Jazz Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, the United Nations in New York and in renowned theaters in Paris, Washington, Istanbul, Amsterdam, London, Casablanca, Rabat, Kuwait and Beirut, the Jerusalem-born artist has been praised as a “classical diva” and an “exceptional virtuousa.” Nai’s virtuosity, critics have said, evokes vocal qualities of three leading Arab 
divas—Asmahan’s velvety depth, Umm Kulthoum’s powerful projection, range and control, and Fairouz’s angelic and deeply emotive head resonance. Indeed, these three Arab legendary singers, together with the composers Sayed Darwish, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, and Zakaria Ahmad were the main influences on Nai as a young girl learning music and singing. Later in her life, she discovered blues and jazz, as well as classical Indian music, Brazilian music, and J. S, Bach! Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Miles Davis and John Coltrane influenced her music and vocal techniques. In her studies Nai explored these influences while developing her own unique vocal technique, NaiStrumentation, a layered ornamental technique for using the voice as a 
musical instrument, which wowed her professors as well as composers who worked with her.