Set List - Jewish Musicians in North Africa at 78 RPM

I had a great session at the JCC last night. Thank you to everyone for coming out. The next session is next Thursday, February 2nd. There was a request for the set list so I have included below. Also, I will be posting a piece on Jo Amar very soon so stay tuned.

Messaoud Habib (Tunisia)
Taksim Ochak
Columbia – Late 1920s?

Cheikh Zouzou (Algeria)
Ghnayet Bensoussan
Philips - 1938

Salim Halali (Algeria)
Bine Elbareh Oua L’youm
Pathe – 1937

Lili L’abassi (Algeria)
Ezhiro
RCA – 1940s

Samy Elmaghribi (Moroccco)
Hobb El Bnet
Pathe – 1948

Zohra El Fassia (Morocco)
Zraa Ouel Matar
Pathe - 1956

Samy Elmaghribi (Morocco)
Allah, Ouatani Oua-Soultani
Samyphone – 1959

Jo Amar (Morocco)
Wine Hbabi Wine Shab
R. Zaki – late 1950s (Israel)

Andalusian (Ala) Music in New York on 4/30: Orchestra of Fes with Françoise Atlan

World Nomads Morocco
Opening Concert & Reception
Orchestra of Fes
with Françoise Atlan

Saturday, April 30, 2011
8:30pm
FIAF, Florence Gould Hall

Presented as part of World Nomads Morocco
in partnership with Essaouira Mogador Association
with the Festival Andalousies Atlantiques and Fondation Esprit de Fès
with the Festival of World Sacred Music

World Nomads Morocco opens with an evening of Judeo-Arab Andalusian music performed by the acclaimed Orchestra of Fes, under the direction of eminent musician and conductor Mohamed Briouel. This rich musical tradition dates back to medieval Spain and is loved by Muslims and Jews alike, throughout the Arab world and in the Sephardic diaspora.

The concert will feature renowned Jewish vocalist Françoise Atlan, who is considered one of the most beautiful voices of this tradition.

All concert attendees are invited to a Moroccan-themed reception following the concert.

To purchase tickets, click here.

Jo Amar Passes Away at 79

There have been a few articles about the passing of Jo Amar last week. One of the best I’ve read so far has been the Ben Harris piece at JTA. Simple and well stated - a fitting tribute. Harris describes Amar as a Moroccan singer and Israeli icon and perhaps this is the best description of this man of many worlds. Other articles have aptly described Amar’s contributions to Israeli and Hebrew music and most notably to Mizrahi music but have neglected to mention his contribution to Moroccan and Arabic music. Just as Amar was an Israeli icon, he was also a Moroccan singer. He sang in Hebrew and in Arabic. Upon emigrating to Israel, Amar, like other immigrant singers, recorded music in Arabic at Koliphone (with the Azoulay Brothers) in Jaffa.

Yesterday on my way home from work I stopped by the post office to pick up a package that was waiting for me. I had ordered some old records from Israel and among them was an Arabic language LP entitled Kdam Drssd Ala - sung of course by Jo Amar. Once home I carefully unwrapped the package and removed the record from its sleeve. I placed the record on my turntable and placed the needle on the vinyl and there he was - Jo Amar in all his glory singing in Arabic.

My Search for Haim Botbol

Before I last left Morocco in Aprl, I happened on a fantastic Abitbol cassette. I have been working on verifying the identify of this Moroccan Jewish singer since then. It should have been obvious to me who he was but my searches yielded far too many unrelated results. It's amazing how a few changes to a Google search (think: Botbol instead of Abitbol and Chaabi instead of Musique) can make all the difference.

So it appears that since leaving Morocco, I have been listening to the chaabi stylings of Haim Botbol whose photo is above. Botbol was born in Fes and has been performing for decades, you can find his translated bio here.

Click here for a link to some of his videos. Here he is performing with Vanessa Paloma at the Laredo Old Age Home in Tangier. I will work on scanning and then posting the cover of the cassette I purchased.