Dawoud the Renegade Sufi

Dawoud is a multi instrumentalist, composer, improviser, and band leader of the ensemble God's Unruly Friends. In addition to being an accomplished guitarist and bassist, it is his work on the sitar and dilruba that earned his reputation as "The Jimi Hendrix of the sitar," His experiments with applying unprecedented concepts and techniques, and electronics, have extended the boundaries of the instruments. He has performed in the US and Europe, appeared on many recordings - including having produced eight albums as a leader, and has enjoyed radio airplay in the US, Europe, Russia, and Indonesia. He often produces his own concerts as a solo artist and with God's Unruly Friends (whose concerts have included extended ensembles, dance performances, visual art, and other elements of theatrics). Dawoud has extensive experience composing for film, theater, and dance performances. His larger scale composition projects include several chamber works, a symphony, the Harmolodic Raga Cycle (a 21 part cycle that combines elements of Indian Raga with Harmolodic Jazz), and the Isra Wa Miraj Suite (a seven part suite that depicts the Night Journey of the Prophet Muhammad). Some of the people he has worked with include Lauryn Hill, Nona Hendryx, Marie Alphonso (Zap Mama), DJ Celt Islam, Gypsy Groovez Orchestra, Junni Booth, Daniel Carter, and many others. One of his innovative ideas is the Music Meditation Sessions. After years of experience performing live music for yoga and martial arts classes, he developed a system of musical improvisation that augments and directs the energies in the class. His Music Meditation grew out of this; it is a guided meditation wherein suggested imagery is replaced by musical form. Dawoud is an accomplished writer / novelist (he writes for several online publications, wrote a Sufi Science Fiction novel "A Quantum Hijra" and a collection of short stories "A Mansion with Many Rooms." He is at work on his second novel, a book on philosophy, and a textbook on music). He is also an accomplished artist whose works have been displayed at several exhibits. Dawoud is also a founding member of Musicians for Musicians, a musician's activist foundation.