MOHAMED ABDEL WAHAB (1902-1991) was "a giant in the world of Middle Easternentertainment" (Al Jadid Magazine) - as singer, actor and composer – and is commonly considered"the father of modern Egyptian song". After a visit to Paris, he revolutionized the film industry byintroducing the genre "musical film" to the Arabic world, the movie "The White Rose" in which hestarred broke all records and to this day is frequently presented in Cairo's cinemas. But in 1950,WAHAB left the film industry to focus on singing and composing – he wrote over 1800 songs(among others for Umm Kalthoum, an iconic artist in the Arabic music in her own right) that weredeeply rooted in classical Arabic music but also laid the foundation for a new era of Egyptian musicas WAHAB was open to Western elements such as waltz rhythms or even rock'n'roll in AbdelHalim Hafez's song "Ya Albi Ya Khali". He also composed several national anthems (Tunisia,Oman, Libya, United Arabic Emirates) and re-composed the Egyptian national anthem "BeladyBelady Belady", based on the original by Sayed Darwish. WAHAB received several decorations ofArabic states, and at his death in 1991, Egypt honored its famous son with a huge military funeralat the Rabia al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo, the six-horse carriage procession carrying his coffin wasactually led by the prime and foreign ministers, followed by the ministers of defense, interior andculture!
SIMON SHAHEEN (born 1955) is the perfect choice for WAHAB's compositions. Born into a familyof gifted musicians, he learned playing the oud at the age of 5 and the violin shortly thereafter. Heearned degrees in Arabic literature and music performance at the Tel Aviv University, and laterpursued further studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and after his emigration to the USA (in1980) at the Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University. SHAHEEN lives in New Yorkwhere he founded the Near Eastern Music Ensemble and Qantara, a formation that blendstraditional Arabic Music with elements of Jazz and classical music, and he also has beenorganizing the Annual Arab Festival of Arts called Mahrajan al-Fan since 1994. The same year hereceived a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts at the WhiteHouse. Solo albums like Saltanah (Water Lily Acoustics), Turath (CMP) or Taqasim (Lyrichord)underline his importance as one of the most significant Arab musicians, performers, andcomposers of his generation. His work incorporates and reflects a legacy of Arabic music, while itforges ahead to new frontiers, embracing many different styles in the process. SHAHEEN hasparticipated in many cross-cultural musical projects with artists as diverse as Henry Threadgill,Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, or the Jewish klezmer ensemble The Klezmatics, contributed to thesoundtracks for The Sheltering Sky and Malcolm X and composed the entire score for the UnitedNations sponsored documentary, For Everyone Everywhere, celebrating the 50th anniversary ofthe United Nations Human Rights Charter. SHAHEENS biggest success was the Qantara albumBlue Flame (2001) which has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards.Besides all his activities as performer, he dedicates a good part of his time to working with schoolsand universities, including Julliard, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, Brown, Harvard, Yale, Universityof California in San Diego, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and many others.The Music Of Mohamed Abdel Wahab was originally released in 1990 on Axiom, the record labelcurated by iconic producer and bass player Bill Laswell, and has been carefully remastered for thisvinyl reissue at D&M, Berlin.
Press quotes:"Master oud player and composer Simon Shaheen finds the perfect mix on this collection ofMohammed Abdel Wahab's pieces … seven wonderful interpretations sparkling with oud andstrings interplay." Stephen Cook / Allmusic.com
"Shaheen's violin soars over a slicing string section and a bed of percolating percussion, whileaccordion, oud, finger cymbals and a chorus of singers weave in and out. Produced with sparklingclarity by Bill Laswell … this record opens a new world of harmonic and melodic possibilities toears accustomed to Western pop." Greg Kot / Chicago Tribune
