Chaouki Smahi was born 1963 in Morocco and brought up in Algeria. He now lives in Switzerland. He is an accomplished oud player and violinist and percussionist. He has a few recordings, most of which involve jazz musicians. Sadaka is my favorite of his recordings. Straightforward arrangements and recording, with the focus on oud, saxophone and percussion. Smahi plays in a fairly traditional Arabic style, but Mariano tastefully incorporates jazz ideas on the saxophone.
Chaouki Smahi: oud, violin, vocals, darbouka Charlie Mariano: alto saxophone
He is on another Charlie Mariano record called Nassim which is somewhat less succesful but still has some nice moments. It's definitely more of a deliberate "Arabic-Jazz" fusion, but overreaches at times.
It doesn't seem to be available in the U.S., but you might be able to find a download somewhere . . .
Yara (1998): very nice recording with strings. Originally came about as music for a film of the same title.
Dominique Pifarely (violin), Vincent Courtois (cello), Nabil Khaiat (percussion)
Journey to the Centre of an Egg (2005): One of Abou-Khalil's most modern-sounding records. Joachim Kühn's piano playing is inventive and dynamic, and challenges Abou-Khalil to stray a little farther from Arabic sounds into jazz territory.
Joachim Kühn (piano, alto saxophone), Jarrod Cagwin (drums, percussion), Wolfgang Reisinger (additional percussion)
Iraqi-American trumpeter, santour player, vocalist, and composer Amir ElSaffar grew up in River Forest, IL, a suburb west of Chicago; he was first exposed to jazz recordings by his father, and his mother taught him to sing and play American folk songs on ukulele and guitar when he was nine. He eventually found his calling with the trumpet After moving to New York in 2000, he became more involved with studying the Arab and specifically Iraqi maqam. In 2002, ElSaffar immersed himself in the music of his father's ancestral past, the Iraqi maqam. He traveled to Iraq, throughout the Middle East and to Europe pursuing masters who could impart to him this centuries-old oral tradition. He learned to play the santour (Iraqi hammered dulcimer) and to sing, and now leads Safaafir, the only ensemble in the US performing Iraqi Maqam in its traditional format. He has also uses techniques for the trumpet that enable microtones and ornaments that are characteristic to Arabic music but are not typically heard on a trumpet.
The record Two Rivers is ElSaffar's clearest mixing of jazz and Arabic music.
A Palestinian, born in the village of Tarshiha in the Galilee, Shaheen's childhood was steeped in music. His father, Hikmat Shaheen, was a professor of music and a master 'oud player. Simon began playing the oud at the age of five and the violin shortly thereafter.
Most of Shaheen's recorded output is on the more traditional side. His jazziest disc, Blue Flame is somewhat reminiscent of the music of John McLaughlin or Paco DeLucia. Shaheen regularly makes extensive use of microtonal maqamat such as Rast, Sikah and Bayati.
All of his recordings are very highly recommended.
Shameless plug: I'm playing guitar on this one in Ramallah!
All of Brahem's available releases are on ECM. He has a simpler, more contemplative style than most oud players, and has on occasion shown his more traditional side. He rarely plays microtonal maqamat.
Selected discography:
Barzakh - 1991
With spare instumentation, much of the album is quite understated, though not without flights of virtuosity.
Conte de l'incroyable amour - 1992 One of Brahem's more traditional-sounding records, there is a lot of nice playing here by everyone, though the compositions do not stand out as Brahem's best.
Ahmed Abdul-Malik (oud, bass); Jack Ghanaim (qanun); Naim Karacand (violin); Johnny Griffin (tenor saxophone); Al Harewood (drums), Mike Hamway, percussion
East Meets West (1958)
Ahmed Abdul-Malik (bass, oud); Lee Morgan (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Benny Golson and Johnny Griffin (tenor saxophones); Ahmed Yetman (qanun); Naim Karacand (violin); Bilal Abdurrahman, Mike Hamway (Darabeka, daf).
The earliest attempt at jazz fusion with middle eastern music. Basically they play some dawalib (sing., doulab: short instrumental piece often used as an introduction) and improvise. Abdul Malik was a well-known jazz bass player of Sudanese descent, best known for his work with Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. Both albums feature his Monk bandmate Johnny Griffin on saxophone along with various middle-eastern nightclub musicians and jazz musicians such as Benny Golson, and Lee Morgan. Jazz Sahara is a strong album, while East Meets West is a little uneven (though with some excellent performances). In the liner notes to Jazz Sahara, Abdul-Malik pointedly avoids referring to the music as "Arabic", and suggest "Mid-Eastern" is more accurate because of the varied traditions involved. The oud playing is somewhat rudimentary, but the overall effect is compelling.
Mohamed Nour : Was born on January 18th in Cairo . His handsome looks and strong physique have made him very popular with the ladies and turned him into an admired heartthrob with the fans. However, his looks do not undermine his passion and talent for music. His love for the violin and the passion of his lyrics are all indications of a very talented artist. Mohamed is one of the founders of the band and is considered the vocal power behind it. His participation at an early age in international concerts, playing alongside big stars like Rachid Taha and ChebKhaled, has added value and experience and has helped him mature into a serious artist. He looks up to Mohamed Abdel Wahab and Michael Bolton. His goal is to reach people with his music, and with it, reach the heights of fame.
He Was born on March 17th in Cairo . Ahmed is the romantic and emotional member of the band.His eyes will tell you that. He is married .Being a PISCES,Fahmi is very emotive and sensetive,he is so imaginative and you can find these feeling obviously in his way of singing,He looks so elegant and attractive,He is so loving, caring and always seeks for being better . Ahmed, along with Mohamed Nour, was the founder of the band.Besides being the lead vocalist,he also plays the violin, writes lyrics and composes some of WAMA's music. He also composes several kinds of music such as modern music for orchestras ans also for solo instruments.Going from classical music and performing in international concerts, to Arabic pop, was a move that Fahmi has always consideredinevitable. He has always been intrigued by Arabic music and the chance to perform in a band with friends that he has known for most of his life,was an opportunity he wasn't going to pass.When he decided to form the band with Nour and noticed the enthusiasm of Shami and Waddour to take part.He also won many classical competitions around the world , the last one was in spain 2001.He looks up to Abdel Wahab and Fayrouz and his goal is that of most talented and respected artists: reach music immortality. Fahmi's first dream is acting,Maybe he loves acting more than singing,That's why when he got the opportunity to act in nice movie with professionl team work, He accepted and his start in Cinema is in 2007 in the movie {khaleeg neama} with the star (Ghada Adel).And He begines to work on his solo album which is titled { Geit fe Baly }.source http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ahmed-Fahmi/10502030265#/pages/Ahmed-Fahmi/10502030265?v=info&viewas=0
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