Born and raised in Beirut, Tarek is an Lebanese-American, New York-based pianist. He has been dedicated to exploring relationships between African-American Jazz and classical Arabic music which are most evident in his second album "Lisan Al Tarab: Jazz Conceptions in Classical Arabic", and in his newly released “Peninsular” which fuses jazz with quarter-tones and the rhythms of the Arabian Peninsula.

Winner of the prestigious "Thelonious Monk Int'l Jazz Composers Competition" for his composition "Sama'i Yamani", Tarek has been part of three all-star global concerts of International Jazz Day and shared the stage with luminaries such as Wayne Shorter, Richard Bona, Zakir Hussein, Esperanza Spalding, Antonio Sanchez, Brian Blade and Vinnie Coliauta.

He has performed around the world in venues such as the Smithsonian Institute (Washington, DC), Barcelona Cathedral at La Merce (Spain), David Rubenstein Atrium (Lincoln Center, NY), Boulez Saal (Berlin), Dizzy's Cub Coca Cola (Jazz at Lincoln Center), MuCEM museum (FR), the United Nations Assembly Hall (NY), Gran Teatro de la Habana (Cuba), Melbourne Arts Center, New York University (Abu Dhabi Festival), the Blue Whale (Los Angeles), the Detroit Institute of Arts, New Morning (Paris), Aaron Davis Hall (NY), and King’s Place (UK) to name a few.

Tarek is also an educator, author of two self-published music books on rhythm and a film score composer of films screened in 70+ festivals around the world and broadcasted on AMC network, BBC and Sundance TV.