The Azoulays, Jewish Libyan Cassettes and Zohra El Fassia's Great Granddaughter

Henry Zehavi performs in Bat Yam - Feb. 2012

The morning after participating in the Bat Yam North Africa sessions, Eilon and I enjoyed a traditional Israeli breakfast of coffee and cigarettes while listening to music. One of the standout pieces he played for me was ostensibly political propaganda and musically-speaking it was dynamite. It was Moroccan Arabic pop music (chaabi) that extolled the virtues of an Ashkenazi mayoral candidate in Ashdod in the 1970s. Using music to convey current events and encourage voting is part and parcel of this genre and in fact much of this political music not only offers insight into these communities and the issues they were concerned with but also an enjoyable listening experience. Judah Assaraf, who sang for a number of Moroccan labels in Israel in the 1960s and 1970s, recorded songs on subjects ranging from the famed peace flight of Iranian-Israeli Abbie Natan (from Israel to Nasser’s Egypt and back again) to the Six Day War to the Herut party.

Between changing records, Eilon showed me some old 78s he had collected that had unfortunately not withstood the test of time but nonetheless shed more light on the musical history discussed on this blog. The 78s in his possession included a number of Jo Amar pieces recorded in Arabic for Philips and a duo known as Abitbol and Fassy that recorded for the N. Sabbah label out of Casablanca.

Joseph Mango Boaron. In Chansone Tripoli. #3. Koliphone. 1970s.

After breakfast, we headed to one of our favorite spots - the Azoulay shop in Jaffa. While Eilon chatted with David and Zaki Azoulay, I picked out some cassettes including a Mike Karoutchi, the Libyan performer Joseph Mango Boaron and a Cheikh Mwijo opus / political call to action to restore the name of Shas leader Aryeh Deri, a former Knesset member convicted of bribery and banned from parliament for ten years in 1999. Each of these cassettes has an interesting story behind it but I’ll save that for another time.

Zakiphon Record Catalogue. Clockwise: Samy Elmaghribi, Albert Suissa, Zohra El Fassia, Jo Amar and Salim Halali.

Our conversation with the Azoulay brothers lasted about an hour but could have lasted for several days as far as I was concerned. In the course of casual conversation, I learned the following:

- Cheikh Zouzou’s son had settled in Israel and brought his father’s recordings with him thereby enabling their rerelease and preservation.

- The Azoulays kept better tabs than I thought and part of the proof of this was the last remaining Zakiphon record catalogue that David showed me and allowed me to photograph.

- AZR, one of the many label names under the Koliphone/Zakiphon suite, stood for Azoulay – Zaki – Raphael.

- Their record factory was based in Holon.

- Their reference points for beauty were still Louisa Tounsia and Line Monty.

With every sentence uttered, my knowledge of the Azoulays, their vision, their personalities and just how mindboggling their operation had been and how much more there is to learn from them increased exponentially.



After fulfilling our Azoulay needs, we headed to Jaffa’s flea market in search of buried vinyl treasure. Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult to find North African records in Jaffa and if they are to be found then they are marked up considerably. However we had a lead and this lead led us to an antique store where the proprietor did in fact have a few EPs remaining. The records were in horrible, horrible condition but I purchased one on the Philix label on the off chance that I would get home, put the needle on the record and be floored. We then had lunch, said our goodbyes and I headed back to Jerusalem.

Eliyahu Kahlaoui (Shlomo Cohen). Bente El Mdina. Philix. Late 1960s?

I returned to the Tel Aviv area a few days later to meet with Karen. Karen is Zohra El Fassia’s great granddaughter who had contacted me through this blog in the hopes of tracking down recordings of her famously talented relative. When I told her I would be in Israel for work, we immediately set up a time to visit and swap stories. The experience was powerful. Karen resembles Zohra and was as warm as I had imagined. As soon as I saw Karen I handed her a CD I had made of digitized Zohra El Fassia 78s. For me, the fact that I was able to share this music with a member of Zohra El Fassia’s family was beyond moving. Karen, in turn, shared with me stories and much more. I learned just how bold Zohra was (she was married multiple times), that her family name was the very common Hammou and how uncommon her life was – more so than I had ever really understood. Karen showed me converted home videos of Zohra El Fassia performing at family gatherings. To paraphrase the poet Erez Bitton, her eyes are full of love in these videos but it’s not only her heart that is clear – so too is her iconic voice in these recordings. I left Karen with a much deeper understanding of just who Zohra El Fassia was and what she stood for. Karen is now working on an online project to capture the history and music of Zohra El Fassia. Let me know if you would like to be in touch with her to contribute photos, music and/or anecdotes.

When I returned to New York days later, I wasn’t disappointed. I dropped the needle on the record and Bente El Mdina practically begged to be digitized. Bente El Medina - City Girl in Arabic – was recorded by Shlomo Cohen aka Eliyahu Kahlaoui for the Philix label, one of the smaller Moroccan labels that cropped up in Israel around the Koliphone/Zakiphon labels. Eliyahu Kahlaoui (Shlomo Cohen) also recorded a song called Bente El Mochav – Moshav Girl in a combination of Arabic and Hebrew - that is the suburban contrast to City Girl. Philix recorded a number of North African musicians in the 1960s and 1970s including Judah Assaraf, who I mentioned above, Brahim Souiri, one of the all time great Moroccan musicians, and the famous Algerian David Elbecheri. Take a listen to Eliyahu Kahlaoui and his troupe below.

The Bat Yam North Africa Sessions: Chaabi Music Alive in Israel

A few months ago I received an email from Eilon, a fellow record collector in Israel. We exchanged notes and swapped stories and agreed to meet next time I was there. When I found out I would be heading to Israel for work in February, I reached out to Eilon to see if we could catch some music together. He told me there was a rare show in Bat Yam that we had to see. The four hours of music we would later become a part of was one of the greatest performances I have ever seen or heard. The fact that this was more or less underground, North African chaabi in Israel made it all the more thrilling.

Izac Elbergui. Koliphone. LP 18. 1970s (Words by Sliman Elmaghrebi)

On February 9th I met Eilon at his apartment in the Hatikva neighborhood of Tel Aviv. He let me browse his beautiful collection of North African vinyl that he collected over the years at various flea markets in the center of the country. We listened to a few select pieces including a rare David Nidam LP on Zakiphon and then hit the road for Bat Yam, about a 15 minute drive from Tel Aviv.

At 11 pm we entered a large community center close to the Rabbinate in Bat Yam. A small crowd of about 35 listeners, multiple decades our senior, eyed us as we found seats at a table with other guests. I quickly spotted Zaki Elbergui, recording star for the Azoulays and their Zakiphon label in the 1970s, now in his 70s and donning a yarmulke. Interestingly most of these musicians have become increasingly religious as they get older, similar to their Muslim counterparts. Zaki was older now but his voice remained strong, deep and hoarse as he began to sing.

Izac (Zaki) Elbergui performing in Bat Yam, Israel on February 9-10, 2012.

Food – fava beans, spicy carrots and assorted pickles – and drink – Goldstar beer – covered our table. A man beckoned me over to sit next to him. Inta maghrebi? He asked me in Moroccan Arabic. I told him I was from New York. He was from Marrakesh originally and said he was also a singer and had performed everywhere from Casablanca to Montreal to Los Angeles. I was incredulous at first until he pulled out his iPhone and started showing me pictures he had snapped of his old pictures. There he was with the great Jewish and non-Jewish North African and Egyptian musicians - Samy Elmaghribi, Salim Halali, Elkahlaoui Tounsi, Oulaya, Sabah, Farid El Atrash and others. I had just met the renowned Henry Zehavi who would later be called to perform on stage.

For the next few hours, Zaki Elbergui would perform along with an oudist, a hand drummer, a drummer on darbuka and Yaacov m’Akko, a skilled and talented violinist who gave one of the best vocal performances of the evening. At the beginning of each piece performed, the oudist would invoke the names of the honored North African musicians who came before them historically and who were physically before them in the audience – all in rapid-fire Moroccan Arabic. Zaki Elbergui then slowly began to give up the microphone and invite some of these honored voices before him to the stage. Henry Zehavi was pulled up on stage after much ceremonial cajoling. His training and skill were self-evident as he performed a number of songs including those of Salim Halali who he had once upon a time toured with around the globe.

Zaki then invited an unassuming David al-Ruimi on stage. David wore a Kangol-style hat and thick glasses that hid his later obvious talent. There was deep respect given to him from the orchestra and the audience and this respect would prove absolutely deserved. Below is the only known recording of David al-Ruimi on the Internet. I suggest you turn up the volume full blast and close your eyes to this unparalleled performance.

The Bat Yam North Africa Sessions: Volume 2

David al-Ruimi sings in Bat Yam on Feb. 10 2012

I have done my best to capture the feeling of this night but of course much is missing. What isn’t captured by these iPhone videos is the intense audience participation throughout the night. Individuals mouthed the words to these songs, danced with each other and with the musicians, gave money to the performers as thanks and listened intently as they were transported back to a different time and place. Eilon, a skilled darbuka player of his own accord, was also invited on stage with the orchestra. Others would sing throughout the night including a different Mwijo then the one I have previously written about - this one from Casablanca - while classic hits like Samy Elmaghribi's Omri ma ninsak were reinterpreted.

In my mind, however, the best performance of the night was one of the last. Yaacov m’Akko (Jacob from Acre), a master violinst, quickly revealed a voice, style and rhythm the likes of which I have never heard. Here he is on video – likely for the first time ever. I again suggest you bring whatever device you are using to full volume. Stick with this one – this track is killer.

The Bat Yam North Africa Sessions: Volume 4

Yaacov m'Akko on violin and vocals - at the top of his game 

There were a few more performances that followed and then it was over. Never before has 3 am come so quickly. The musicians began to pack up their instruments, put on their jackets and head to their cars. Some were returning to other parts of Bat Yam. Others to Jaffa and Yaacov of course to Akko. He had hours of driving ahead of him. Eilon and I headed to Jaffa to have a bite to eat and process. We had just witnessed an increasingly rare performance of Jewish North African musicians - some of the most talented of their generation. As these musicians and their audience grow older, it is important that these sessions are made available to a wider audience. It is for this reason that I have put what I am calling the Bat Yam North Africa Sessions online. Please make sure to spread around.

For more videos, click here. I’ll be writing again soon on meeting with the Azoulays, record and cassette shopping in Jaffa and meeting with Zohra El Fassia’s relatives in Tel Aviv.