Born in Fez, Ali Alaoui studied at the Arab-Andalusian music conservatory in his hometown and has practiced percussion since childhood in a musical environment influenced by North Africa, the Middle East and Andalusia. At 19, he joined the orchestra of the Moroccan Radio and Television in Fez and was later promoted to soloist in the National Orchestra of Morocco, with which he has performed worldwide.

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In 1999, during a tour in France, he discovered that the musical culture of the Arab world, still relatively unknown outside its borders, was generating considerable interest among Western artists and audiences. 

After leaving the National Orchestra of Morocco to settle in France, Ali Alaoui embarked on a new artistic career marked by numerous collaborations with jazz musicians, classical musicians, medieval musicians , and world music musicians. He quickly understood that sharing his culture primarily involves transmission and decided to realize his own projects with professional musicians passionate about Arabic music and with the musicians he trains in his workshops.

Ali Alaoui devotes all of his career to spreading his culture. Working at the same time on the transmission, creation and adaptation of classical and traditional musical repertoires, he pays tribute to his heritage and makes links between Middle Eastern and Western musics.