Egyptian Rai [1994]

by Egyptian Ensemble, Hossam Ramzy

Overview

Egyptian percussionist Hossam Ramzy is perhaps best known in the West as a purveyor of "belly dance" music, but he has a long and varied career as a musician in Egypt as well as in the West where he played jazz. The term "rai" is a reference to a movement across many Islamic countries to update traditional music and make it more accessible; Egyptian Rai is an attempt to bring together disparate elements both from Ramzy's life and from the region as a whole. The current album thus covers a lot of ground. Take the piece "Othrak Ma-ak Othrak": Like many traditional Arabic pieces, it opens with a long solo for oud (lute) but soon percussion and even a trumpet and an accordion enter. The resulting exchanges, building on short phrases, are as much jazz as they are traditional Arabic music; they develop a nice groove. (That two such diverse musical styles can be blended has been proved repeatedly by such musicians as Rabih Abou-Khalil.) The sound is generally leaner and more varied than Ramzy's "belly dance" efforts, with fewer strings and less use of synthesizer, but still instrumental. The track "Wah Wah," with its funky bass and bang-on-a-can percussion opening, is one of several "party songs" on the album. While Ramzy is always somewhat limited by his material, Egyptian Rai is a very good example of how two musical traditions can be fused without degrading either. Good fun. ~ Kurt Keefner

Product Details

Release Date:	11/07/2006
Label:	Arc Music
UPC:	0743037202527
Rank:	182830

Tracks

1. Gani Lasmar
2. Othrak Ma-AK Othrak
3. El-Hawzi
4. El Ataba Gazaz
5. Wah Wah
6. Eddalla Ya Aris
7. Mawwal el -Oshaa
8. The World Is My Oyster
9. The Star Collector

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Hossam Ramzy   Primary Artist,Recorder,Percussion
Egyptian Ensemble   Primary Artist
Walid Fayed Mohammed Fayed   Keyboards,Bass
Samy El Bably   Trumpet
Farouk Mohammed Hassan   Accordion,Quarter Tone Accordion
Mike Day   Recorder
Bahaa Abdulla   Recorder
Abdulla Abu Sheffa   Violin
Aziz Ben Salam   Nay,Flute
Michael England   Keyboards
Bashir Abdel 'Aal   Nay,Recorder
Dave Knowles   Recorder
Mostafa Sax   Keyboards,Sax (Alto)
Ali Mohammed   Nay,Flute
Ihab Tutu   Violin

Technical Credits

Mike Day   Mixing,Engineer
Bahaa Abdulla   Engineer
Klaus Gerlach   Artwork,Typesetting,Layout Typography
Mark McQuade   Artwork,Typesetting,Layout Design,Layout Typography
Karen Gerlach-Tubbesing   Layout Design
Michael England   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Bashir Abdel 'Aal   Engineer
Dave Knowles   Mixing,Engineer
Hossam Ramzy   Text,Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Liner Notes