Born in Morocco in 1984, Chouki trained at the Conservatory of Larache from age eight and continued at the National Conservatory in Rabat, focusing on music theory and classical guitar. At eighteen he won first prize at the International Guitar Competition in Spain. His toolkit spans the classical guitar and North African instruments — the loutar, the sintir, the oud, the Algerian mandole, the bağlama saz — plus banjo, cigar-box instruments, and percussion.
Now based in New Orleans, he leads the New World Ensemble, a fixture at Snug Harbor; his projects include the Cigar Box Project and an electric band. He teaches music at the Lycée Français de la Nouvelle Orléans and curates monthly music programs at the New Orleans Museum of Art. He composed the score for the 2021 Sundance-winning film Ma Belle, Ma Beauty, and has performed at Paris’s Palais de l’Élysée with Jon Batiste.
His 2024 album Caravan “From Marrakech to New Orleans” (Bandcamp) travels from “Safar” through “Egyptian Fantasy” to a New Orleans closer, “Treme” (feat. John Boutté), with stops for “St. James Infirmary” and “Mahmoud’s Blues.” He also recorded SideBar Sessions, Vol. 2 with drummer Johnny Vidacovich.
