Growing up in Sudan, Ali Osman was a self-taught rock musician playing drums and guitar. Feeling he had reached a point where he could not progress by himself, he planned to move to Canada, but in 1978 he settled in Cairo, where he was supposed to get his Canadian visa. He studied with Gamal Abdel-Rahim, Bertold Hummel and Robert Woshborn at the Cairo Conservatoire (1978–1986), and learned the double bass with Rodney Slatford. He wrote a thesis on traditional Sudanese and Arabic music. He obtained a Bachelor of Music in composition and music theory, and a Master of Music. He then pursued postgraduate studies in analysis, counterpoint and music history with Awatef Abdel Karim (1986–1990).
