Jamil Bachir was born to an ethnic Assyrian/Syriac Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 family and is the brother of Munir Bashir

Munir Bashir

Munir Bashir was an Assyrian musician in Iraq and one of the most famous musicians in the Middle East during the 20th century and was considered to be the supreme master of the Arab maqamat scale system....

. His father started to teach him the oud when he was around six years old, as his father was a singer, oud

Oud

The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...

 player and oud maker. The Iraqi Music Institute was opened in 1936, under administration of Hanna Petros

Hanna Petros

Hanna Petros , was an Iraqi Assyrian composer and a scholar. He wrote numerous books and treatises over oriental music, Iraqi Maqams and Syriac hymnody. He is also established a renowned conservatory in Baghdad.- Life :...

 (1896–1958), then in 1937 Sherif Muheddin Haydar and other professors joined the faculty of the Institute; Jamil Bashir was enrolled to learn {Oud} with Sherif Muheddin Haydar and Violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 with Sando Albu. He finished his oud study in 1943 and his violin study in 1946, and then worked at the Institute as an oud and violin teacher. He also wrote a two-volume oud method. Jamil Bashir was also a good singer, but he did not continue singing as he preferred the oud. He died in London on 27 September 1977.
Notes by Bassim H. Petros, Auckland 14 July 2010.