Oud player, born in Mosul, Iraq, in 1961. He began playing the oud as early as 1969 when his uncle, Fadhil Hamdoun, showed him the basics, and he went on to study with Akram Ahmed Habib. However, by 1972 he had decided to shift his focus to the violin, although the oud would remain an important part of his life. Ali composed his first piece of music in 1977, and this paved the way towards a highly successful career as a composer, especially of film music. In 2008 he was awarded a prize by the Arab League for best musical composition. Ali's first solo oud album, Awtar Haera, appeared in 1994, followed by a number of CDs with oud and Arab ensemble. He has recently made several recordings of oud with orchestra, and has been working on a collaborative project with Lebanese oud player Charbel Rouhana and Azeri mugham singer Alim Qasimov.