Photo by Berry Behrendt

"SHUSMO" in Arabic means "what's his name." This project began to take shape in the Fall of 2000. At first, the intent was quite simple: To blend various elements of jazz and Middle Eastern music, and to present them through powerful grooves. Over the years, as the sound of the band began to mature, other elements came into play including Latin rhythms, counterpoint, and spoken word. Today, every member brings their own background to add flavor to the compositions, and the result is far beyond what the original goals were.

This New York City based band has recorded music for the film “West Bank-Brooklyn,” and theme music for WBAI’s radio show “Fen Meshnoon with Dean and Maysoon.” Since releasing their first album “One” in February 2005, they have performed at a number of festivals including The Jerusalem Festival (Jerusalem, Palestine), Sounds of the City (Newark, NJ), Atlantic Antic (Brooklyn, NY), NextNext Series at BAM Cafe (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and Festival du Monde Arabe de Montreal (Canada). Other venues include New York and Columbia Universities, and Joe's Pub.

For individual bios, click on each band member's name

The lineup for the band is:
Tareq Abboushi- Buzuq, Composer
Lefteris Bournias- Clarinet (click here for his website)
Frank Hauch- Bass (click here for his website)
Hector Morales- Congas, Cajon (click here for his website)
Zafer Tawil- Riq, Durbakkeh, Cymbals