EGYPT – Taqasim and Layali - Cairo Tradition – Unesco Musical Sources – GREM - DSM 010

EGYPT – ÉGYPTE

Taqasim and Layali - Cairo Tradition – Unesco Musical Sources – GREM - DSM 010, 1984 reissue of a 1971 release, recorded by Jacques Cloarec in Cairo (LP)

This classic 1971 album from the essential UNESCO Musical Sources series showcases the art of taqâsîm melodic improvisation and layâlî vocal improvisation. It features prominent Egyptian musicians from the The Takht Ensemble of Cairo performing here in various formats: Ibrahim El-Haggar (1922-2000) on vocals (A1, A3), Sami Nussair on the qanun zither (A1, A3, B2), Gomâa Muhammad Ali (1924-1975) on the oud lute (A3, B1), Wahbi Labib on the ney flute (A2, A3) and Muhammad El-Arabi on the darbuka goblet drum and req tambourine (A2, A3, B2, B3).

Similar to Indian ragas, Arabic maqams are melodic systems that provide a framework for improvisations intended to evoke specific moods and emotions. The various forms of Egyptian maqam are closely related to Turkish makam, Azeri mugam, and Persian dastgah. These complex musical forms are traditionally passed down orally from teacher to student.

Cet album classique de 1971, issu de la série incontournable UNESCO Musical Sources, présente l'art de l'improvisation mélodique taqâsîm et de l'improvisation vocale layâlî. Il met en avant les éminents musiciens de l'ensemble Takht du Caire, qui jouent ici sous différents formats musicaux: Ibrahim El-Haggar (1922-2000) au chant (A1, A3), Sami Nussair au cithare qanûn (A1, A3, B2), Gomâa Muhammad Ali (1924-1975) au luth oud (A3, B1), Wahbi Labib à la flûte ney (A2, A3) et Muhammad El-Arabi au tambour darbouka et au tambourin req (A2, A3, B2, B3).

 

Semblables aux ragas indiens, les maqams arabes sont des systèmes mélodiques qui fournissent un cadre pour des improvisations destinées à évoquer des ambiances et des émotions spécifiques. Les différentes formes de maqam égyptien sont étroitement liées au makam turc, au mugam azéri et au dastgah perse. Ces formes musicales complexes sont traditionnellement transmises oralement, de maître à élève.

A1 – Layâlî and Mawwâl (Maqâm Bayâtî)

Qanun by Sami Nussair & vocals by Ibrahim El-Haggar;

 

A2 – Taqsîm Bayâtî

Ney flute by Wahbi Labib & req tambourine by Muhammad El-Arabi;

 

A3 – Samâ'î El-'Aryan

The Takht Ensemble of Cairo with vocals by Ibrahim El-Haggar, ud lute by Gomâa Muhammad Ali, qanun zither by Sami Nussair, ney flute by Wahbi Labib and req & darbuka by Muhammad El-Arabi;

 

B1 – Taqsîm Bayâtî

Ud lute by Gomâa Muhammad Ali; 

 

B2 – Taqsîm Farah-Faza

Qanun by Sami Nussair & req tambourine by Muhammad El-Arabi; 

 

B3 – Darbuka solo

Darbuka goblet drum by Muhammad El-Arabi.

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My other Egyptian and Arabian, Turkish, Azeri, and Yemeni maqam posts:

Egypt – Music of the Arabian Orient & North Africa – Supraphon here

Arabian Music – Maqam – UNESCO Musical Sources here
Iraq – Music of the Arabian Orient & North Africa – Supraphon here
Music of Iraq – Seven seas GXC-5013 here
Jordan, Lebanon & Syria – Music of the Arabian Orient & North Africa – Supraphon here

Nuit Précieuse au Serail – ARION 30 U 097 here

Azerbaijan – A Musical Anthology of the Orient – BM 30 SL 2024 here

Jamil Ghanim – Luth au Yemen – Ud classique – Arabesques 6 here

Bahrain & U.A.E. – Pêcheurs de Perles et Musiciens du Golfe Persique

OCORA 42 here

Listen to the excellent 'Taqsim-e Nahavand' virtuoso oud solo by Riad el-Sunbati (1906–1981). This renowned Egyptian musician was highly influential during the 'Golden Age' of Egyptian music, composing 

many songs for legendary artists such as Umm Kulthum (1904–1975) 

and Abdel Halim Hafez (1929–1977):

Ibn Qalawun (1285–1341) and his courtly entourage. He ruled Egypt 

as the ninth Mamluk Sultan of the Bahri dynasty for over 40 years; 

frontispiece from a 1334 manuscript of the Maqamat of al-Hariri 

(The Assemblies of al-Hariri):

Wikimedia Commons

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INDIA Rajab Ali Khan – Raga Jaunpuri / Raga Bageshree – EMI - ECLP 2618

INDIA – INDE
Rajab Ali Khan – Raga Jaunpuri & Raga Bageshree – EMI – ECLP 2618, recorded in 1954, released in 1980 (LP)

I am thrilled to present this rare LP showcasing the towering Hindustani vocalist Rajab Ali Khan (1874–1959). As mentioned in previous posts, this flamboyant 20th-century figure had a profound influence on the renowned Khayal vocalists Amir Khan (1912–1974) and Salamat Ali Khan (1934–2001). 

 

Born in Narsingarh, Madhya Pradesh, Khan received his initial training from his father, Manglu Khan, and later studied under the legendary rudra veena (or been) player Bande Ali Khan (1830–1896) (see photograph below), as well as with Bade Mohammad Khan. In addition to singing, he mastered the rudra veena, sitar, tabla and jaltarang —a set of struck ceramic or metal bowls filled with water.

Khan served as a court musician for the princely states of Dewas and Kolhapur. Known for his technical brilliance and uncompromising artistic standards, this musician’s musician created a sophisticated modern fusion of the Kirana, Jaipur and Gwalior gharanas. Khan was particularly famous for his vibrant, complex, and incredibly speedy taans (melodic phrases) delivered with precision, clarity and tonal purity.

Unfortunately, like many court musicians of that era, Khan left behind very few recordings. Apart from some 78 RPM shellac discs recorded in the 1930s and ‘40s, this precious historical All India Radio recording, featuring two side-long tracks, is the best way to experience Khan’s voice. Remarkably, the Ustad was 80 years old when these tracks were recorded, in 1954, underscoring his staggering command of speed and precision, demonstrating why he influenced artists like Amir Khan.

Je suis ravi de vous présenter ce disque rare du grand chanteur hindustani Rajab Ali Khan (1874-1959). Comme je l’ai mentionné dans des posts précédents, cette figure flamboyante du XXe siècle a profondément influencé les célèbres chanteurs khayal Amir Khan (1912-1974) et Salamat Ali Khan (1934-2001). 

 

Né à Narsingarh, dans l'État du Madhya Pradesh, il commence son apprentissage auprès de son père, Manglu Khan, puis devient le disciple du légendaire joueur de rudra veena (ou been), Bande Ali Khan (1830-1896) (voir photo ci-dessous), ainsi qu'auprès de Bade Mohammad Khan. Outre le chant, il maîtrisait la rudra veena, le sitar, le tabla et le jaltarang, un ensemble de bols en céramique ou en métal remplis d'eau et frappés.

 

Il était musicien à la cour des États princiers de Dewas et de Kolhapur. Reconnu pour son génie technique et ses exigences artistiques sans compromis, il était particulièrement célèbre pour ses taans (phrases mélodiques) pleines de vitalité, complexes et d'une rapidité incroyable, qu'il exécutait avec précision, clarté et pureté tonale.

 

Malheureusement, comme beaucoup de musiciens de cour de cette époque, il a laissé très peu d'enregistrements. Outre quelques disques 78 tours enregistrés dans les années 1930 et 1940, cet enregistrement historique de la All India Radio, qui comprend deux morceaux d'une face entière, est le meilleur moyen de découvrir sa voix. Il faut souligner que lors de l’enregistrement de ces morceaux en 1954, Rajab Ali Khan, qui fait étalage ici de sa remarquable maîtrise de la vélocité et de la précision, avait déjà 80 ans. Ces enregistrements montrent pourquoi il a tant influencé des chanteurs comme Amir Khan.

 

A1 – Raga Jaunpuri (Man Ki Lagan Kaun Jane) – Jhaptal

B1 – Raga Bageshree (Kaun Karata Tori Binati) – Trital

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My other Khayal male vocalist posts:
Amir Khan – Memorable Evenings HMV STC here
Amir Khan – His Master's Voice – EASD 1331 here
Amir Khan – Rare Creations of Ustad Amir Khan – Inreco here
Nazakat & Salamat Ali Khan – HMV – 7 EPE 1356 here
Nazakat & Salamat Ali Khan – Hannibal Records – HNBL 1332 here
Faiyaz Khan – Hindusthan Record – LH 5 here
Faiyaz Khan – His Master’s Voice – EALP 1292 here
D. V. Paluskar – His Master’s Voice – EALP 1295 here
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan –  Odeon MOAE 5004 here

Bhimsen Joshi – HMV – 7 EPE 1246 here
Bhimsen Joshi – HMV– ECLP 2264 here
Mallikarjun Mansur – Sings Rare and Complex Ragas – Inreco here
Kumar Gandharva – HMV– ECLP 2360 here
Omkarnath Thakur – SEDE 3302 COLUMBIA here
The Great Tradition – Masters of Music – HMV– EALP 1453/1452 here
Raag Rang Berang – Thumriyan-Light Classical Vocal here

Ustad Bande Ali Khan (1830–1896) of the Kirana Gharana, trained Rajab Ali Khan and was one of the most famous bin (rudra veena) players of the 19th century. He adapted Khyal to the bin, which until then was primarily used with Dhrupad, a style characterized by its rigor, spiritual austerity, 

and a lack of intricate embellishments. Khan made the instrument "sing" like a Khyal vocalist, requiring greater technical dexterity because Khyal is 

more ornamental and fluid than Dhrupad. 

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NIGERIA – Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Melody Maestros – Sasakosa Ekassa Vol. 3 – Philips 6361 060

NIGERIA – NIGÉRIA

Sir Victor Uwaifo & His Melody Maestros – Sasakosa Ekassa Vol. 3 – Philips 6361 060, 1974 (LP)

I discovered the music of Victor Uwaifo (1941-2021) in Lagos in the early 1990s, when I came upon this outstanding LP. Uwaifo, a singer, composer, guitarist, flautist, and keyboard player, was born and raised in historic Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. Benin City was the center of the Benin Empire, home to the Oba (king), one of the world's oldest continuous monarchies, dating from the 12th century.

 

In 1965, Uwaifo formed a band called Melody Maestros, which introduced a unique style of highlife music with a string of hit singles. Their song Joromi, recalling the life of a legendary warrior and blending traditional Edo folklore with modern music, became a massive hit in Nigeria and West Africa, earning Africa’s first Gold Disc Record. Throughout his illustrious career, Uwaifo released about 100 records and was one of Nigeria’s brightest stars during the golden age of African music in the 1960s and '70s. 

This Renaissance man was a multi-talented showman, dancer, inventor (notably of an 18-string double-neck guitar), writer, sculptor, public servant, and university lecturer. In the early 1970s, Uwaifo released his Ekassa Series, featuring more than 50 songs, to showcase the music and rhythms played during the traditional Ekassa dance performed at the coronation of a new Oba of Benin. Uwaifo modernized this rarely played music by fusing it with electric guitars, bass, and brass instruments in a style he called "Progressive Traditionalism."

These inventive, joyful and unforgettable Ekassa songs are suffused with Uwaifo’s ebullient personality, and showcase his mellifluous voice, guitar playing and musicianship, drawing on traditional music, palm wine music, highlife, funk, soul, rock and jazz.

C'est à Lagos, au début des années 1990, que j'ai découvert la musique de Victor Uwaifo (1941-2021), en tombant sur cet album exceptionnel. Chanteur, compositeur, guitariste, flûtiste et claviériste, il est né et a grandi à Benin City, la ville historique de l'État d'Edo, au Nigeria. Benin City était le centre de l'empire du Bénin, siège de l'Oba (roi), l'une des plus anciennes monarchies au monde, fondée au XIIe siècle.

 

En 1965, il a formé un groupe appelé les Melody Maestros, qui a introduit un style unique de musique highlife avec une série de singles à succès. Leur chanson Joromi, qui évoque la vie d'un guerrier légendaire et mêle folklore traditionnel Edo et musique moderne, a connu un immense succès au Nigeria et en Afrique de l'Ouest, remportant le tout premier disque d'or africain. Au cours de sa brillante carrière, Uwaifo a sorti environ 100 disques et a été l'une des stars les plus en vue du Nigeria durant l'âge d'or de la musique africaine dans les années 1960 et 1970. 

Cet esprit universel pluridisciplinaire fut également danseur, inventeur (notamment d'une guitare à double manche de 18 cordes), écrivain, sculpteur, et professeur d'université. Au début des années 1970, il a sorti sa série Ekassa, composée de plus de 50 titres, afin de mettre en valeur la musique et les rythmes joués lors de la danse traditionnelle Ekassa, exécutée lors du couronnement d'un nouvel Oba du Bénin. Uwaifo a modernisé cette musique rarement jouée en la fusionnant avec des guitares électriques, une guitare basse et des percussions, dans un style qu'il qualifiait de « traditionalisme progressiste ».

 

Ces chansons Ekassa, inventives, pleines d'entrain et inoubliables, sont imprégnées de la personnalité exubérante de Victor Uwaifo et mettent en valeur sa voix, son jeu de guitare et son talent musical exceptionnel. Elles s'inspirent de la musique traditionnelle, du palm wine music, du highlife, du funk, de la soul, du rock et du jazz.

A1 – Ayubele – Ekassa 44

A2 – Idogo – Ekassa 42

B1 – Edenederio – Ekassa 40

B2 – Jesu – Ekassa 41

B3 – Amenawon – Ekassa 37

B4 – Atete – Ekassa 38

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Listen to Joromi/Monkey Yanga, an excellent, longer and more up-tempo 1980 rendition of Victor Uwaifo's classic 1965 version of Joromi:

My other African modern music posts:

Chief Stephen Osita Osadebe – People's Club Special POLP 070 here 
King Sunny Adé – Check E - SALPS 26 here  

African Dances – Authentic 601 here
Gbaari - Bariba music from Benin – Radio Parakou archives here
Bariba, Dendi & Fulani Peul music from Benin – Radio Parakou archives here

Photographs below are from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s online collection (www.metmuseum.org) and Africa: The Art of a Continent, Royal Academy of Arts, 1995:

Ùhúnmwèlaò (head of an ọ́bà, or king) wearing a woven cap of coral beads, Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria, early 15th-mid-16th century:

"The obas of Benin trace their origins to a ruling dynasty that 

began in the fourteenth century. The title of oba is passed 

on to the firstborn son at the time of the ruler’s death." 

Head of a python, Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria, 18th century:

In Edo cosmology, the python is a divine, royal messenger associated with the Oba, or king, and Olokun (the deity of the sea). The python symbolizes authority because it rules the snake kingdom, just as the Oba rules the land. The python is also a symbol of justice and moral vigilance. 

Olokun dispatches pythons to seek out and punish those 

who have committed wrongs.

Figure of a woman, Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria, 17th-18th century:

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COLOMBIA – Music of the Tukano and Cuna Peoples of Colombia – Rogue Records - FMS/NSA 002

COLOMBIA – COLOMBIE 
Music of the Tukano and Cuna Peoples of Colombia – Rogue Records - FMS/NSA 002, Recorded by Brian Moser and Donald Tayler in 1960-1961, released in 1987 (LP)

These unique, great sounding field recordings offer an in-depth glimpse into the sonic universe of the Colombian Cuna (Kuna or Guna) and Tucano (or Tukano) indigenous peoples, going back to time immemorial. 

 

This album features abstract and otherworldly flutes – including end-blown flutes, a deer-bone flute, a snail-shell flute, a wing-bone duct flute, a tortoise-shell and pan pipes – a conch-shell trumpet, whistling, male and female voices, rattles, and gourd maracas. These inspired performances set in a variety of contexts, from dances (A7, A8, B5, B6) to curing songs (B8), and elders chanting origin myths (A6), are accompanied by the constant ambient sounds of nature, including insects, birds, frogs, and splashing water. 

Ces enregistrements uniques et de grande qualité offrent un aperçu approfondi de l'univers sonore des peuples indigènes colombiens Cuna (Kuna ou Guna) et Tucano (ou Tukano), qui remonte à la nuit des temps.

Cet album présente des musiques abstraites et éthérées, avec notamment des flûtes à embouchure, une flûte en os de cerf, une flûte en coquille d'escargot, une flûte en carapace de tortue, des flûtes de Pan, une conque, des sifflements, des voix masculines et féminines, ainsi que des hochets et des maracas. Ces musiques inspirées s'inscrivent dans des contextes culturels et magico-religieux variés : danses (A7, A8, B5, B6), chants de guérison (B8) ou anciens du village chantant des mythes fondateurs (A6). Elles sont accompagnées de sonorités constantes de la nature en forme de bourdons émis par des insectes, des oiseaux ou des grenouilles, ou encore des clapotis d'eau.

TUKANO PEOPLE

A1 – Early morning birdsong and deer-bone flute

A2 – Snail-shell flute

A3 – Paired tortoise-shell (goo) and pan-pipes

A4 – Yuca-plant sieving and washing

A5 – Pan-pipes and coca pounding (two excerpts)

A6 – Elders chanting origin myths

A7 – Eagle dance

A8 – Pan-pipe dance (chiruru) (two excerpts)

A9 – Distant snail-shell flute

 

CUNA PEOPLE       

B1 – Conch-shell trumpet, greeting chant and paired flutes

B2 – Two sets of paired pan-pipes (two excerpts)

B3 – Wing-bone duct flute (karlbeebil) and song with end-blown flute (kammu)

B4 – Yayganagadi song

B5 – Dog dance with kuli pipes

B6 – Chicken dance and pan-pipe dance (two excerpts)

B7 – Kammu flute and nasis gourd maraca         

B8 – Two curing songs and lullaby (three excerpts)

B9 – Pan-pipe tunes (three excerpts)

B10 – Paired pan-pipes with maracas (two excerpts)

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My other South American indigenous music posts:

The Indians of Colombia – Lyrichord - LLST 7365 here
Indiens et Animaux Sauvages d’Amérique du Sud – UNIDISC here

Brésil Musique Indienne – Contrepoint MC 20-137 here

Wayapi Guyane – SELAF-ORSTOM CETO 792 here

The Music of Primitive Man – Horizon – P 11857 here

Please help me purchase important traditional records to 

pursue my global curation project and share the 

best finds with you on this blog here below: