Yacine Boulares

Described by Radio France internationale as “a Tunisian man in New York, one of the most talented jazzmen of his generation” Yacine Boulares is a French-Tunisian saxophonist and composer based in Brooklyn.

After graduating from the Paris National Conservatory Yacine moves to New York on a Fulbright scholarship in 2009 to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary music. New York exposes him to a myriad of different musics. Soon he starts touring with Fela Kuti's ex drummer Jojo Kuo and Haitian Kompa legends Tabou Combo. In their musics he finds a deep echo to his Tunisian roots.

These influences urge him to seek his own identity and his explorations of North & West African rhythms lead to the creation of AJOYO, a mystic brew of African tradition, jazz and soul. Yacine signs the music and lyrics of two albums that celebrates life, love and justice. (2015&2020)

In 2014 he is part of Placido Domingo’s Encanto Del Mar (Sony Classical). This is where he meets cellist Vincent Segal and gets the idea to explore the forgotten Tunisian Stambeli repertoire with drummer Nasheet Waits.

In 2015 Abu Sadiya is granted the French American Jazz Exchange grant, the Arab Fund for the Arts and Culture as well as the Brooklyn Arts Fund (2016 & 2018). The album was released in 2017 and hailed by Le Monde as “a glittering instrumental suite, all fluidity and golden colors”, the trio performed at Jazzahead in 2017 and their US tours included both the Lincoln Center and the Jazz Gallery.

In 2019 Yacine is selected to be a part of the Joe’s Pub Working Group to develop his newest project IFRIQIYA, a multimedia performance exploring the Afro Tunisian rhythmic traditions.


In 2021 Yacine co-founds the Habibi Festival in New York, a four day festival dedicated to contemporary Arabic culture.