Simon Shaheen is wonderful, and this is a great CD. I've been listening to it since high school (when it was originally released by CMP), and I'm now just short of twenty-nine. My favorite track, and really one of my favorite songs, is the uber-catchy "Longa Farahfaza." The addition of the bass oud really propels the song and gives it some funky oumph (pun intended). The tempos on the other songs tend to be slower, but the track I mentioned and the longer riqq/oud duet on the next track are well worth the price of the album. It's very seldom you'll hear this kind of repertoire with such high production values. If you enjoy this, I also recommend Mr. Shaheen's album devoted to the music of Mohammed Abdel Wohab. It rocks. It really really rocks. Fun-Fact: Dead Can Dance, the leading fake world music purveyors of the 80s and 90s, sample that one for the closing credits of their "Toward the Within" concert film. -by John Grunwell, AMG
Shaheen invited three other highly-respected virtuosi on istruments played widelyin Turkey and the Arab world to participate in the project: Hassan Ishkut, a well-versed musician originally from Turkey who played the qanun (a plucked zither); multi-instrumentalist Faruk Tekbilek, another Turkish musician, heard here on the nay (reed-flute); and Samir Khalil, an Egyptian percussionist currently living in London, who plays the riqq (small tambourine) and the tar (a large frame-drum). In addtition to showcasing the talents of these artists, the album also demonstrates Shaheen's innovative treatment of the music (e.g. adding the bass 'ud, a regular 'ud equipped with thicker, custom-made strings), as well as the care he has taken to preserve the integrity and character of the repertoire performed. - from the CD cover
Artist: Simon Shaheen
Album: Turath
Year: 1991
Label: CMP (1992)
Runtime: 59:18
Tracks:
1. Bashraf Farahfaza (Ismail Haqqi) 5:42
2. Sama'i Farahfaza (Tamburi Jamal) 6:41
3. Taqasim on Violin (Simon Shaheen) 1:35
4. Longa Farahfaza (Riyad al-Simbati) 3:15
5. Taqasim on the Beat (Simon Shaheen/Samir Khalil) 9:33
6. Sama'i Nahawand (Masud Jamil) 8:16
7. Tahmilah Suznak (Traditional) 6:22
8. Sama'i Nahawand (Ali Jihad Racy) 6:27
9. Bashraf Kurd (Asdik Aga) 4:17
10. Taqsim on Nay (Faruk Tekbilek) 1:13
11. Sama'i Kurd (Simon Shaheen) 5:51
Personnel:
Simon Shaheen (Oud, Violin, Bass oud)
Faruk Tekbilek (Nay)
Hassan Ishkut (Qanun)
Samir Khalil (Riqq, Tar)