Najeeb Shaheen

Raised near Haifa, Najeeb Shaheen was trained on the oud by his father, the late Hikmat Shaheen. As a child, he and his brother Simon Shaheen were deeply influenced by the weekly regional broadcasts on Egyptian Radio’s “Voice of the Arabs,” which featured renowned classical concert singers like Oum Koulthoum, singing live full length concerts. As a Palestinian émigré, residing in New York for the past thirty years, Najeeb “The Oudman” has become known as a master oud maker and restorer. He plays with leading Arab vocalists and the Near Eastern Music Ensemble, lead by his brother Simon. Najeeb is also the proprietor of Najeeb’s Place, a popular Levantine eatery and cafe on Graham Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.