Mohammed Najib al-Sarraj (1921-2003)
11. 10. 2008 | Categories: Articles
[by Ken Hunt, London] On 16 June 2003 the Arab-speaking world and the Arab diaspora lost one of the great names in music. Born in 1921 in Hama, the Syrian composer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist - and especially oud player - Mohammed Najib al-Sarraj never achieved the success of many of his contemporaries yet proof of his standing came from none other than one of Egypt's national treasures, the composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab. He self-referentially and humorously nicknamed him "Syria's Abdel Wahab". One of the prime reasons for his failure to make the most of his potential was his staunch refusal to leave Syria for the greener pastures of Egypt - and financial prospects to be exploited there. This was in contrast to many of his countrymen and -women including Farid al-Atrash, Asmahan [...]Robert Hazard (1948-2008)
11. 10. 2008 | Categories: Articles
[by Ken Hunt, London] It's one of those magnificently manipulative daughter-father lines. She is bending her father round her little finger. And both of them know it. Cyndi Lauper sings, "Oh daddy dear you know you're still number one/But girls they want to have fun." Girls Just Want To Have Fun became one of the most popular and most joyful English-language songs of 1983 and 1984. It appeared on Lauper's She's So Unusual (1983) and MTV picked up on its video to such an extent that it became their Video of the Year in 1984. The following year the song lent its title to a film staring Helen Hunt and Sarah Jessica Parker, though for some reason Girls Just Want To Have Fun the film didn't use the Cyndi Lauper version of the song, plumping instead for a version sung by Deborah Galli with Tami [...]
Rudolf ‘Ruedi’ Rymann (1933-2008)
[by Ken Hunt, London] You could hardly find a more thoroughly Swiss or Swiss-German gentleman than the folk musician Rudolf 'Ruedi' Rymann who died on 10 September at his home in Giswil in the Swiss Canton of Obwalden. In the public eye he was a musician and sportsman and by trade he was a farmer and cheese-maker. In retirement he was also a huntsman. He epitomised Swissness. 'Ruedi' Rymann, born in Sarnen, Canton Obwalden on 31 January 1933, was one of Switzerland's most renowned yodellers and his Dr Schacher Seppli, his take on a traditional song, became (and remains) a staple of Swiss broadcasting. It earned him a Gold Disc in 1982. In December 2007 television viewers voted it Switzerland's favourite song overall in Die grössten Schweizer Hits ('The Greatest Swiss Hits'), 'officially' [...]Momo ‘Wandel’ Soumah (1926-2003)
[by Ken Hunt, London] The Guinean saxophonist and clarinettist, gravely voiced singer and songwriter, Momo 'Wandel' Soumah died in his homeland's capital, Conakry on 16 June 2003. Of Baga tribal stock, he survived the, at times, perilous crossing from colonial times (exemplified by stints in dance bands with names redolent of the period such as La Joviale Symphonie and La Douce Parisette) to independence. During the socialist years of Sékou Touré's presidency, an Afro-centric sound was de rigueur. Momo 'Wandel' Soumah was part of a music scene that met the president's request for change and national identity head-on with a music that mixed tradition and technology. After Touré's death, a new flowering of music occurred and external influences again permeated the fabric of Guinean pop [...]Peggy Seeger – Change we can believe in
1. 10. 2008 | Categories: Articles
[by Ken Hunt, London] Peggy Seeger has sent a newsflash that she is happy for people to pass on. She and Jon Andrews have made a short video of her song Obama Is The One For Me. Grammy-winners Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer have donated the instrumentation, backing vocals and recording expertise. And just to make things clear, she sent a caution:
Beware: this YOUTUBE video contains pro-Obama Material.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9wgVznm9OU
Please send the url on to whomever you want for whatever purpose.
For updates and information about Peggy Seeger, visit http://www.pegseeger.com/
Photo courtesy of Peggy Seeger
Ronnie Drew (1934-2008)
2. 9. 2008 | Categories: Articles,Lives
"Here's to the Ronnie, the voice we adore
Like coals from a coal bucket scraping the floor
Sing out his praises in music and malt
And if you're not Irish, that isn't your fault" - The Ballad of Ronnie Drew
[by Ken Hunt, London] In November 2006 An Post - Eire's Post Office - issued a set of four commemorative stamps with portraits of The Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem, The Dubliners, The Chieftains and Altan on them. Each group added something special to Ireland's appreciation of its own musical heritage and in turn to the wider world's appreciation of Irish music. But there was never a folk band to compare to the Dubliners - the Chieftains were quite different - and in his prime Ronnie Drew's voice was contender for the most distinctive in Irish music.
Born in Dún Laoghaire, Co. [...]
Artie Traum (1943-2008)
15. 8. 2008 | Categories: Articles,Lives
[by Ken Hunt, London] At the beginning of the 1960s a new kind of folk scene started to develop in the USA. Overall, the scene consisted very much of localised affairs. In Colorado, Boulder was separate from Denver. The US East Coast scene, notably based around Boston and Cambridge in Massachusetts and New York operated independently of each other. Gradually they made contacts and connections. The dots joined up. Some New York musicians such as David Grisman and Jody Stecher relocated to California, for example. Artie Traum was part of the New York scene but by the late 1960s he was part of the bigger picture.
Guitarist, singer-songwriter and composer Arthur Roy Traum was born in New York City on 3 April 1943, younger brother to Happy Traum by five years. Early on, he accompanied the [...]
Arun Ghosh, Indo Electronica Stage, London Mela, Gunnersbury Park, London 10 August 2008
15. 8. 2008 | Categories: Articles,Live reviews
[by Ken Hunt, London] The sixth London Mela returned to its spiritual homeland on the borders of Hounslow and Ealing to the west of London once again and once again it was a celebration cum fair, which is all mela means in several of the subcontinent's languages. The blurb on the front of the programme proclaimed: "Eight zones with urban, classical and experimental music, DJs, circus, dance, visual arts, comedy, children's area, food from around the world and a giant funfair."
The clarinettist Arun Ghosh closed proceedings on the Indo Electronica stage with a set drawing mainly on his Northern Namaste (Camoci Records, 2008) album. This time he fronted a quartet with Pat Illingsworth on kit drums, Liran Donin on string bass and Nilesh Gulhane on tabla. Ghosh, a highly physical player, [...]
Palya Bea Quintet, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House, London
27. 7. 2008 | Categories: Articles,Live reviews
[by Ken Hunt, London] "There's a lot of dancing in her music," I say to the Hungarian dancer sitting next to me when the concert finishes. My observation about the performance has nothing to do with Beáta Palya as a dancer, little to do with her swaying or rockin' in rhythm as she sings and everything to do with the way she sings. In a manner of speaking, Bea Palya sings from the haunches and the hips an awful lot. And what and how she sings is exceptional. The music she makes is Hungarian folk-crossed jazz or Hungarian jazz-crossed folk with other elements stirred in - chanson, for example, befitting her role in Tony Gatlif's film Transylvania in which she plays the part of the cabaret chanteuse - that's chantoozie in American-English.
The Palya Bea Quintet set at the Linbury Studio [...]
