KCOU JAZZ
Jan. 26, 2025
Exploring jazz contributions from the Arab world. Many selected pieces have been resurfaced by emerging Berlin-based record label Habibi Funk.
Songs Included
The Scorpions | Bride of Africa | Jazz, Jazz, Jazz (2018)
Recorded in Kuwait during the 1980s and re-released in 2018 by Habibi Funk, Bride of Africa comes from Sudanese band The Scorpions. A piece that plays like the morning of a wedding day, Bride of Africa opens with bright electric guitar and incorporates lyrical vocals and saxophone.
Hamid Al Shaeri | Tew’idni Dom | The SLAM! Years (2022)
Tew’idni Dom comes from Egyptian-Libyan singer and producer Hamid Al Shaeri from his years at Egyptian Record Label SLAM! between 1983 and 1988. With jingling synth and bouncing guitar, Al Shaeri cultivates an Arabic pop sound, which his vocals coat with steez. Habibi Funk re-released Tew’idni Dom in 2022.
Carthago | Hanen | Alech (2016)
An upbeat melody, Hanen rings with thumping drums and slapped bass. An energetic take on Tunisian disco, Carthago was formed as a fusion between Marhaba Band and Dalton. This recording came from their time together in 1979 and brought back to life in 2016 by Habibi Funk.Charif Megarbane | Yara | Marzipan (2023)
From the prolific Lebanese multi-instrumentalist, Yara features on Charif Megarbane’s first full-length collaboration with Habibi Funk. Yara drives a stake into the deepest ground of soundtrack-inspired jazz music. Megarbane’s impressionistic musical style carries into his style as a producer. Releasing over 100 albums under different pen names across Beirut, Lisbon, and other cities, Megarbane’s output equals his talent and ear for cultivated groove.
Ahmed Malek | Tape 19.11 (2017)
On a piece simply entitled Tape 19.11, Algerian soundtrack composer Ahmed Malek carries a flute melody forward like a freight train. Between flagrant percussion interludes, flute and strings plead a continuing musical theme. Tape 19.11 was re-released by Habibi Funk in 2017 after decades in the musical vaults.
Dalton | Alech | Soul Brother (2015)
Dalton’s only recorded single, Alech was recorded in Rome in the early 1970s. A band formed by students from the University of Tunis, Dalton blended shakers and Ridha Kouhen’s bass guitar with Mustapha Rehouma’s saxophone to cross American soul palettes with Arab lyrical direction. The piece itself is full of questions, with the repeated “Alech,” meaning “Why?” in Tunisian dialect.
Habibi Funk’s first re-release in 2015, Alech sets the tone for the curated style the label has come to be known for.
Elias Rahbani | I Think of You | Mosaic of the Orient (1972)
From Lebanon, Elias Rahbani composed more than 2,500 songs and wrote soundtracks for more than 25 films during his extensive musical career. I Think of You comes from his landmark instrumental album Mosaic of the Orient, originally released in 1972. The piece is a psychedelic groove laid down by a flute and lute pairing. With organ-like synthesizers and congos, this piece reaches beyond a folk tune and creates its own subgenre.
Ali Hassan Kuban | Mabruk | From Nubia to Cairo (1989)
Known as the “Godfather of Nubian Music,” Ali Hassan Kuban was an Egyptian singer and bandleader known for his fusion of funk and traditional Nubian melody. Mabruk comes from Kuban’s 1989 album “From Nubia to Cairo” and features folksy accordion, buzzing brass, and spirited vocals. Much like the title and cover of the album suggest, Kuban’s theme of movement rings throughout this piece.Salah Ragab, The Cairo Jazz Band | Egypt Strut (2021)
Likely recorded in the early 1970s and re-released in 2021, Salah Ragab’s Egypt Strut combines bluesy marching horns with Egyptian piano. Another fusion of American jazz and traditional Egyptian music, horns feature prominently in this piece, and are supplemented by a buzzing Mozmar trio. Adding electric rock guitar, Salah Ragaba and The Cairo Jazz Band add a rock and roll groove to their funk.Kamal Keila | Al Asafir | (2017)
A key figure in Sudanese jazz, Kamal Keila swings a pensive guitar and trumpet groove on Al Asafir. With the song titled “The Birds,” Keila’s band holds onto flitting string passages, closing with a powerful electric guitar solo. Recorded for the Sudanese national radio in 1992, this recording was re-released in 2017 by Habibi Funk.