Jamil Bachir

Who was Jamil Bachir?

Jamil Bashir was born to an ethnic Assyrian/Syriac Christian family and is the brother of Munir Bashir. His father started to teach him the oud when he was around six years old, as his father was a singer, and an oud player. The Iraqi Music Institute was opened in 1936, under administration of Hanna Petros, then in 1937 Sherif Muheddin Haydar and other professors joined the faculty of the Institute; Jamil Bashir was enrolled to learn Oud with Sherif Muheddin Haydar and Violin with Sando Albu. He finished his oud study in 1943 and his violin study in 1946, and then worked at the Institute as an oud and violin teacher. He also wrote a two-volume oud method. Jamil Bashir was also a good singer, but he did not continue singing as he preferred the oud. He died in London on 24 September 1977.