Antoine Lammam

Antoine Lammam with Matthew Montfort

(Arabic percussion)

Antoine Lammam was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His musical career started early, where at the age of 8 he was given his first drum, an Egyptian tabla. Antoine's passion and his huge talent was noted by his family, many of whom were themselves involved in the arts. At the age of 14, Antoine moved to United Arab Emirates with his family, running away from the war in Lebanon, where he joined a local band at 16. He was encouraged to master his craft and studied under Khaliji conga master Jumah Ibrahim and Syrian bongo and tambourine player Marwaan Sheriff. The move to United Arab Emirates and joining a number one band consisting of 20 members gave the young Antoine a rich insight into the cultural origins of Middle Eastern music mixed with the flavors of Indian and African rhythms. In the mid of 1970's, Antoine became the main drummer for famous Khaliji singer Abdullah bel-Kheir. But as Antoine began looking for new dimensions of percussive sounds, he found himself turning full circle into his first interest and his sensual passion for the Arabic tambourine.

It wasn't till late 1970's, when Antoine met and studied with famous tambourine player Michael Baklouk. After that, Antoine became the main tambourine player at Dubai's major radio station, where he enjoyed playing for famous artists, doing different contest shows, and recording for various top singers of that time. Antoine has accompanied many famous singers in the USA, played at major night clubs all over America, and taught Arabic rhythms and percussion theories at UC Berkeley (World Music from the Middle-East) from 1991-2009. Antoine is featured on many record releases, including Ancient Future's Planet Passion and his own poetry and music album, Echoes Of Silence, which features his brothers, the famous violinist Georges Lammam and master accordion player Elias Lammam.