Early life Djaffar Bensetti was born in December 1962 in the northwest of Algeria, in the city of
Oran, specifically in the
Boulanger neighborhood. He was the brother of Bachir Bensetti, who died in February 2018, and the uncle of actor
Rayane Bensetti.
Career Djaffar shared in an interview that his passion for the trumpet was ignited by
Messaoud Bellemou, a trumpeter from
Aïn Témouchent, as well as by his musical idols such as
Umm Kalthoum, Ahmed Wahby, Belaoui Houari, his brother Mohamed Maghni, and Miles Davis. He learned to play the trumpet from a Spanish musician named Philiberto Serna, who was living in Oran. He played the trumpet in the iconic song "
Didi," which gained worldwide popularity. He also collaborated with Cheb Mami on the song "El Ghalia," as well as with other artists such as Fadela, Rachid Taha, and Marc Moulin, accompanying them on international tours in
Europe,
Latin America,
Japan,
Egypt, and around the world. Furthermore, he participated in the collective chant for the
1998 FIFA World Cup song with Messaoud Bellemou. He was the only Algerian in the
1, 2, 3 Soleils orchestra, which consisted of 60 musicians.
Kouider Berkane, the conductor of Khaled's group, attests that during a concert in
Cairo in 1995 with Cheb Khaled, the audience was surprised. Djaffar performed compositions using a quarter of the
maqam scale on the trumpet. This performance astonished the Egyptians, who were not accustomed to hearing him play the instrument in this way, as they were more familiar with the flute.
Trumpet Djaffar owned a unique
trumpet crafted by a 90-year-old Italian artisan, adorned with precious stones. == Death ==