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Nasser started playing music at the age 15. He
took piano lessons along with his brother
Yassine at the Beaux Arts in Algiers. After a year
of piano lessons, he discovered that the drums
were his passion. He followed his older brother
Kader's band and the band?s drummer finally
agreed to teach Nasser a few drum rudiments.
By the age of 17, he formed his first band along
with his friends, Youcef, Khelil, and Sami. They
performed in resorts in and around the city of
Algiers.
In 1977, at the age of 21, Nasser moved to Paris
where he played with some local musicians and
met a fantastic guitar player, Nadir Bouhired,
who was into jazz-rock and fusion music.
Working with Nadir, he became heavily
influenced by Billy Cobham, Jack Dejohnette,
Weather Report, and Jean-luc Ponty.
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Equipment:
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Nasser uses Yamaha maple
custom absolute set with Zildjian
cymbals and 2002 Sound-Edge
Paiste hi-hat.
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To contact Nasser:
nasser@thedunesmusic.com
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(c) The Dunes music 2004
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In 1980, Nasser and his American wife moved to San Francisco, where she had lived before moving to Paris. His
first musical encounter was with Jorge Santana, Carlos Santana's brother. For the next few years he played with
different bands from rock & roll to Latin jazz, jazz-rock to reggae, and always looking for something new to learn.
For a period of almost 9 years, Nasser did not play music until in 1998 when he performed a few shows in San
Francisco with a local band. He then realized that he wanted to focus more on North African music, and was told
about someone who shared this same interest. Nasser then met Reda Bouali and together they formed "The Dunes."
For Nasser, ?The Dunes? is about building off of North African music?s exposure in the San Francisco bay area
and merging it with other popular ethnic sounds. His love of world music sounds like Gnawa, Latin, Andes, and of
course Carlos Santana, has a huge influence on his style and sound.
Favorite drummers: Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, Gene Krupa, Elvin Jones and a
fantastic Algerian drummer Karim Ziad.
Favorite quote: ?The mind is like a parachute it only works if it is open.?