Swap a CD: 15 Recently Posted CDs in Middle East

Shafqat Ali Khan - Shafqat Ali Khan

Shafqat Ali Khan — 2013-05-16T12:39:22-05:00

Shafqat Ali Khan is the son of famed Pakistani singer Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, who was the uncle and one of the first teachers of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the best-known exponent of Pakistani Qawaali singing. But you can't listen to a lineage, and Shafqat Ali Khan blazes his own path on this self-titled album co-composed with keyboardist Douglas McKeehan, known for his work with the world-fusion group Ancient Future. Together, they create a contemporary extrapolation of the gharana music tradition, a sound of unbridled passion that spins off vocal ornaments that sound like a baroque painting on acid. This isn't traditional music souped up with modern arrangements, but new compositions built from the ground up. Shafqat writes his own, Rumiesque lyrics, ranging from the love song of "Ashina" to the ecstatic rave-up of "Dance of My Soul." It's that mixture of sensuality and spirituality that creates the tension of Qawaali music. McKeehan's inventive arrangements often eschew Pakistani signposts completely, from the bluegrass banjo on "Dust to Dust" to the cyclical guitar lines of Richard Michos on "Valley of Memories." Beautifully produced, Khan and McKeehan create a dynamic relief to what can often be an unremittingly intense music. --John Diliberto

Levon Ichkhanian - After Hours

Levon Ichkhanian — 2013-05-07T13:21:06-05:00

Lauren Pomerantz - Wings of Time

Lauren Pomerantz — 2013-04-20T10:26:34-05:00

Various Artists - Arabia: The Women's Voice

Various Artists — 2013-04-03T23:30:17-05:00

UK compilation featuring a supreme selection of Arabic women singers. 11 tracks, Najwa Karam 'Ariftu Albi Lamin', Nawal Al Zoughbi 'Maloom', Dania 'Ya Glebey', Howayda 'Nari', Madonna 'Habibi Tal Alyea', Latifa Wadeh 'Kerihtak', Julia Boutros 'Hejar El Mensiyen', Warda 'Balwans Bek', Nagat 'Ana Bashak El Bahr', Fairuz 'Sahana Al Leye' & Oum Kalthoum 'Matrawak Dammak'. Manteca.

Brothers of the Baladi - Further Journeys

Brothers of the Baladi — 2013-03-30T16:58:31-05:00

"A sound that knows no borders." -- L.A. Times "A delightful oasis of sensual rhythms and superb musicianship that makes you dance. I always enjoy sharing the bill with these entertaining performers." -- Maria Muldaur "They offer a bridge ... in the wake of terrorism and stereotyping. Americans need to recognize our kinship with other cultures. Here come the Brothers as if on cue: a group of Americans with a new CD of traditional Middle Eastern music." -- The Oregonian "Infectiously danceable--will lure congregates to the floor, the seats of chairs, maybe even tabletops." -- Artvoice "Spiritual intoxication ... at the forefront of the wave that breaks the barriers and begins the peace process." -- San Luis Obispo New Times Brothers of the Baladi is one of the largest sellers of Middle Eastern, world, and belly dance music, both nationally and internationally. Further Journeys, the group's fourth release, set a new standard of how to bring traditional acoustic Middle Eastern music to the world's ears. Features kanoon master Ishmael, ney/oud master Boujemaa Razgui, and multilingual singer/drummer Michael Beach, founder of Brothers of the Baladi. Includes well-known popular Turkish love songs "Bir Demet Yasemen," "Shesheler," and "Olmaz," plus classic instrumental "Chefetelli." "Jewnoon al Mizmar" features the raw, exotic sounds of the mizmar (reeded folk horn) as well as the doumbek, tabla, mezhar, and def of the ancient Arab and Turkish worlds. Brothers of the Baladi have headlined at hundreds of festivals, concerts, and colleges throughout the years, sharing the stage with Leon Redbone, The Mamas & The Papas, Zachary Richard, Maria Muldaur, 3 Mustaphas 3, Paul Horn, and more. Credits also include work for the Tony Award-winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Comedy of Errors.

Cheb Mami - Dellali (Dig)

Cheb Mami — 2013-03-25T16:50:13-05:00

Paralleling the origins of the Western world's early rock & roll, punk, and hip-hop (as well as the blues and reggae), rai originated in Algeria's underclass as homegrown recreational art. The personal became political, and as its popularity (and controversy) grew, the music--marked by raw, provocative, and willful vocals--became a beautifully uplifting and rebellious expression, a flag claimed and raised high by Algeria's young. One of the form's earliest innovators, Cheb Mami fled to Paris where he has for two decades been a rising star, blending rai with dance, hip-hop, funk, and rock, in a string of ever-more accessible recordings. His international calling card, however, was backing Sting on the if-you-haven't-heard-it-you've-been-living-under-a-rock "Desert Rose." Neither a purist nor a misstep-fearing artist, Mami goes for broke with his brave new record, Dellali. Sinewy, sophisticated, and genre-expansive, Dellali features Mami's barbed-wire vocals cutting through multi-layered fields of wild and orchestral violin, accordion, cello, oud, and drums. In turnabout, Sting backs Mami on a track, and late Nashville sensation Chet Atkins is on guitar on backing vocals. But the most shimmering and soulful moments come when the London Community Gospel Choir bust a glorious move to make Dellali a grandiose explosion of nearly perfect sound. --Paige La Grone

Ihsan Ozgen - Remembrances of Ottoman Composers

Ihsan Ozgen — 2013-01-06T06:47:16-05:00

Paul Zim - Seder Night

Paul Zim — 2012-12-31T12:55:55-05:00

PAUL ZIM SEDER NIGHTS-CD

Michael Feinstein Israel Philharmonic Orchestra - Michael Feinstein with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

Michael Feinstein, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra — 2012-12-27T20:00:12-05:00

If there's a precious tone to Michael Feinstein's interpretations of the American songbook, it probably stems from a fervent dedication to preserving the original context of his material. This is, after all, a musician who spent many of his formative years in personal service to the late Ira Gershwin. This collection further underscores that commitment, with the lush sound of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (augmented by the piano trio of Alan Broadbent, who also provides all but one of the arrangements here) adding considerable dramatic resonance to Feinstein's performances. While singers from Sinatra and Streisand to Fitzgerald and Bennett have imbued many of these songs with considerable dollops of jazz, blues, and their own strong personas, Feinstein mines melancholy jewels like "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year," "How Deep Is the Ocean," and "By Myself" for all their introspective emotion. "Somewhere" pays tribute to Bernstein with glorious, unabashed melodrama, while "Laura" (one of the most recorded songs of all time) gets recast in something approaching its original intent via an arrangement written for this recording by composer David Raksin. Feinstein himself penned the album's notes, paying careful tribute to each composer represented and noting that all were Jews, yet their music came to represent a richly American spectrum that included black and white and encompassed jazz, the theater, and even classics in its scope. There's a lesson herein, and one that spans more than mere history and musical archaeology. --Jerry McCulley

Various Artists - Flamenco: A Windham Hill Guitar Collection

Various Artists — 2012-12-07T02:17:28-05:00

One could argue that flamenco music, with its delicate acoustic guitar and husky vocals, is the sexiest, most seductive music in the world. Just watching flamenco dancers in action is proof enough, but one can also enjoy simply listening to the music. On this release, Windham Hill collects six classic catalog tracks and adds two new ones each from highly regarded musician Adam del Monte and New Age artist Sean Harkness. Flamenco is inarguably the music of Spain, but this collection also highlights influences from the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. Vicente Amigo's "Three Notes to Say I Love You" is a bit on the schmaltzy side, but it's nicely balanced by the intense fretwork on del Monte's "Sombra del Paraiso." Mostly instrumental and fairly subdued, Flamenco is a broad-ranging collection that will hip the curious to some of the best names in the business while also providing ample proof that flamenco is not music with a singular sound. --Tad Hendrickson

Cheb Mami - Meli Meli

Cheb Mami — 2012-11-09T23:43:17-05:00

New Succesfull Album from the Franco-algerian Star of Rai Music. Includes the Single Au Pays Des Merveilles (Azwaw).

Various Artists - Think Global: Bellydance

Various Artists — 2012-10-21T13:49:03-05:00

Danced all over the world, bellydance is linked to some of the richest folk, pop and classical music traditions of the Middle East. Think Global: Bellydance presents some of the best contemporary bellydance musicians and singers to have set the world on fire. Whether you intend to shimmy or listen, this is a bellydancing extravaganza!

Childrens Choir - Christmas in Europe

Children's Choir — 2012-10-18T09:10:32-05:00

Jerome Kern Cy Coleman Jule Styne Arthur Schwartz Frank Loesser Harold Arlen David Raksin Burton Lane George Gershwin Irving Berlin Leonard Bernstein Jerry Herman Alan Broadbent Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Michael Feinstein - With the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

2012-09-11T20:06:43-05:00

Sunshine Arabia 2004 - Now That's What I Call Arabia #6

Sunshine Arabia 2004 — 2012-08-10T09:36:46-05:00