Founded in 1983 by the French virtuoso of the Arab zither (qânun) Julien Jalal Eddine Weiss, Al-Kindî is currently rated among the best formations devoted to classical Arab music, owing to the quality of its interpretations and to the rigor and respect with which it has built upon the classical musical traditions of the near and middle east.

The work of Mr Weiss has infused new blood into classical Arab music, and his faithful audience of connoisseurs is deeply appreciative of the encouragement and freedom given to the intuitive genius of the great soloist performers who compose the Ensemble: the Alepo luth player Mohamed Qadri Dalal, the Damas flutist Ziad Kadi Amin, the Egyptian percussionist Adel Shams el-Din, and the tenbur player Ozer Ozel. The qânun player and artistic director is Julien Jalal Eddine Weiss.

In the company of the best singers from Syria and Iraq, he presents various repertoires of classical songs, both profane and sacred, thus enabling us to rediscover the refined, complex musical art of these age-old cultures.

Julien Jalâl Eddine WEISS is French of Swiss and Alsatian origins. He was born in Paris and was converted to the Muslim faith in 1986. He has become an absolute expert on the board zither (qânûn), after receiving teaching from masters all over the Arab world - in Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, the Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He is both a soloist and accompanist in his ensemble, the Al-Kindi Ensemble which he founded in 1983.

In the concert world, his constant search for Arab vocalists to accompany or record, who are nevertheless unknown in the West, has turned him into a sort of ideal link between two worlds.
This link has become even more solid since he set up home in a 16th century Mameluk palace where he organises regular music-room concerts in the old traditional style.

He travels constantly all over Europe with his illustrious Oriental vocalists - Omar Sarmini et Sheikh Habboush from Aleppo, Dogan Dikmen from Turkey,Sheikh Hamza from Damascus, who died in 2009, but also Hussein al-Azami from Iraq, Lotfi Bushnak from Tunisia.

In 2001 he received the Arts & Letters Award from Catherine Tasca, the Culture French Minister.

Today he lives in Istanbul and works on new collaborations with turkish musicians, in particular with the complicity of Dogan Dikmen, but also indians and iranians, he also would like to get into his futures creations.

In 2009, Al-Kindi ensemble presents the opening concert of The year of France in Turkey at l’Opéra de Lille with a show gathering 35 artists on stage.

In 2010, beyond Al-Kindi ensemble concerts, Julien Weiss contributes to a creation of the composer Christopher Trapani for the IRCAM, presented at the 104 in Paris in june 2010 and at the Royal Festival Hall of London in April 2011.