How did a St. Louis–born rabbi and a Jerusalem-born Palestinian musician come together to form a duo rooted in Middle Eastern sound?
Rabbi Zachi Asher, who now lives in Germantown in the Hudson Valley, began playing guitar at just six years old. As a child, he encountered the oud — the fretless Middle Eastern instrument played with a pick — through a teacher who owned one. “The instrument was stunning,” Asher said.
Years later, as a student at New York University, he passed a musical instrument shop on West Fourth Street and bought an oud on impulse. “I had to learn how to play it,” he said. He sought out a teacher — “Bassam, who gave lessons out of a church on West 86th Street” — and has now been playing the instrument for 20 years. In New York, the oud connected him with members of the Arab community.
Zafer Tawil, who was born in Jerusalem and moved to the United States in 1999, lives in Brooklyn and performs widely as a multi-instrumentalist. He plays violin, oud, qanun, nay, and percussion and appears with a range of ensembles.
The two musicians had known each other for years through a mutual friend who sensed they would connect musically and personally. They had performed and recorded together before appearing as Duo al Rouh for the first time in Germantown in late 2024.
“We formed our duo in circumstances around October 7,” Asher said. “For the first year after the attack, I was one of the only rabbis who opposed the Israeli response. I was writing about it.” Over time, he said, he wanted to express himself less through argument and more through sound. “There’s an interesting dynamic between what you can say with words and what you can say with music,” he said.
“Al Rouh means ‘spirit, essence, soul,’” Asher said. “We agreed to perform together.” In May 2025, the duo was the closing act of the New York Oud Festival at Joe’s Pub.
“I’m excited to perform the music with Zach. He’s an amazing guy,” Tawil said.
“I’m looking forward to the intimacy of playing in the Grace Note at Stissing Center. Our performance will be an end of winter celebration!” Asher said.
Duo al Rouh performs downstairs at the Grace Note at Stissing Center on Friday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20.