Middle Eastern Music

Twenty Songs of the Chosen Surfers

Ask any big Hollywood macher, and they?ll tell you that it?s the latest craze with the boychicks and maydeles! The parting of the Red Sea and the curl of the Banzai Pipeline to the sands of the Sinai and the waves of Waikiki to the Diamond District to Diamond Head! The songs of the Jews and the sound …

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Mazeltov, Mis Amigos

This 1961 Riverside Records album is one of the greatest ruses of 20th century American pop music, a forgotten masterpiece of cross-cultural disguise and masquerade. Neither Juan nor his Latin Lantzmen were actually Lantzmen, and only some were actually Latin. Juan was John Cali, an Italian-American banjo picker and radio veteran best known for his work with the …

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Cairo to Casablanca

Compilations of readily available music are rarely satisfying, and sometimes the more they try to have a theme the less satisfying they become. The Putumayo series certainly falls prey to this often, but this particular set has risen above the mass. Editors Hamid Zagzoule and Jacob Edgar have an understanding of North Africa, and provide intelligent liner notes …

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Klezmer Pioneers: European and American Recordings 1905-1952

This is the first modern studio recording of the klezmer music of Europe, performed with the original European instrumentation – first violin, cimbal (hammer dulcimer), sekund (contra-fiddle), and bass. Half of these compositions were recorded here for the first time. This CD features haunting instrumentals by the great klezmer composers of the 19th century, such as Mikhl Guzikow …

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Amassakoul [2-LP Vinyl]

Even for a band hailing from the nomadic Tuareg population, roaming the deserts of Mali, Africa, the members of the Grammy winning band Tinariwen have travelled further than most. Since breaking through to a global audience, their music has taken them around the world and been championed by artists as diverse as Robert Plant, Brian Eno, Thom Yorke …

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