Artist Bio:
A remarkable collection of music from Jordan played on the Arabic rababa, tableh, qanoun and oud.
The album title, Talileh, comes from the word Ta'lil, which means the week before a wedding day. Every night family and friends of the bride and groom gather together to sing and celebrate. The special thing about ta'lil week is that every day has its own set of songs that should be sung.
Artist Profiles:
Jamal Khlief: Born in Karak, south of Amman, this 53-year-old poet learned poetry from his father. His father being a famous poet and the chief of their clan. As a child, Jamal performed in organized musical evenings with friends and family. Singing traditional tales and improvised poems while playing the rababa fiddle at weddings. He is considered one of the best rababa poets in Jordan.
Omar Hassan Faqir: A descendent of a family of well known musicians, he was taught music at an early age. He was introduced to jazz and it grew into his favorite pastime. Playing at different jazz festivals around the world, he had a chance to perform with many of the top jazz musicians. He has succeeded in combining the melody of Oriental music with the harmony of Western music.
Ahmad Rami Al-Najjar: A dedicated musician for the past 16 years, Ahmad has been extremely active in the world of Arabic music. With experience in both Egypt and Jordan, he has worked alongside composers and songwriters both regionally and locally. Among the festivals Ahmad participated in are: 6th Festival of Arabic Music, Egypt; Jerash Festival, Jordan; 1st Jordanian Music Festival. His new album, in collaboration with Arab arrangers, composers and songwriters, is now underway.
Ahmad Abanda: Born in 1971 in Amman, Ahmad started out as a member in a local band with whom he participated in different local and international festivals such as the Egypt Festival, Babel Festival in Iraq, Rammalah Festival in Palestine as well as the Himana Festival in Turkey. He started recording his first album in 2001, The Dream of My Heart.
Haytham N. Kawar: composer, and oud player with more than five years experience in the world of musical underscore production for radio, TV and movie projects boasting over 140 national and regional pieces to his name. As well as producing two soundtracks for the royal courts, he has won six advertising awards for radio commercials in the 2000-2001 International Advertising Awards, Jordan.
The Mahabeesh: The Mihbash, used for coffee grinding by Bedouins, in 2000 became the basis of a musical group established for the World Wide Hanover Expo 2000. Starting with 6 members The Mahabeesh group was developed by the National Music Conservatory and with the help of Jordanian composers, and highly acclaimed musical figures in Jordan. After their success, the N.M.C. put together a group of youths who have, in 2001, taken part in the Jerash Festival, Jordan; Hala Febrayer (Hello February) Festival, Kuwait; Festival of Music, Bahrain.
Nasser Salameh: A 25 year old self taught percussionist, Nasser's story is worth mentioning. A dancer in a folkloric dance group, after breaking his leg he got asked to be the percussionist for the group. He didn't like percussion at the time, but that changed. He does not consider himself to be specialized in any one kind of percussion, but plays Latin, Arabic, as well as South East Asian music. While in Palestine and later in Jordan, Nasser took part in many workshops both teaching and playing. He has played with most Jordanian bands, and even Swedish, German, Greek and other musicians.
Yacoub: Jordanian composer, arranger and lyricist. Yacoub started his career in the mid-'90s playing bass guitar with local musicians such as Black Iris and the University of Jordan group and performing at the Jerash Festival. He then joined RUM, performing locally and abroad. His music attempts to blend in surrounding influences reflecting the diversity of the environment in which he lives in using the most modern of technological instruments, to the classic, traditional and ancient instruments and human sounds. —Courtesy Calabash Music
