Gaida and her group ILHAM at Alwan tomorrow night

Alwan for the Arts presents
ILHAM
Featuring:
Gaida Hinnawi: vocal
Rufus Cappadocia: cello
Brahim Fribgane oud, percussion
Amir ElSaffar: santoor, trumpet
Tareq Abboushi: buzuq
Ilham is Arabic for "inspiration," and this quintet follows the inspiration of the moment to create new music with deep roots. Vocalist Gaida Hinnawi is featured, weaving her virtuosic, highly emotional singing with the cello of Rufus Cappadocia, the trumpet and santoor (Iraqi hammered Dulcimer) of Amir ElSaffar, Tareq Abboushi's buzuq, and the percussion of Brahim Fribgane. The group will perform original compositions with striking new sounds and an emphasis on improvisation.
Alwan for the Arts
16 Beaver St, 4th floor (between Broadway and Broad)
New York, NY 10004
www.alwanforthearts.org
Sat, May 10, 2008 9:00 pm

$15 ($10 Students with valid ID)
THE MUSICIANS:

Gaida Hinnawi is a vocalist and composer working at the intersection
of the New York Arab and improvised music scenes. Her compositions
draw at once on classical Arabic song, Syrian folk traditions, and
free improvisations that expand on traditional Arabic maqams (modes)
to produce an original and highly personal style marked by great
emotional intensity. An acclaimed singer from an early age, Gaida was
raised in Damascus and later lived in Kuwait, Paris, and Detroit,
where she received classical voice training at Wayne State
University. Gaida has composed and recorded for major motion
pictures, including Jonathan Demme's Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains,
in which she recorded with Gillian Welsh and Alejandro Escovedo.
Gaida also maintains a parallel career as a speech pathologist.

Rufus Cappadocia has built a solid reputation as one of the most
innovative and versatile cellists, performing at well-known venues
and music festivals throughout Europe and North America. Playing on a
self-designed five string cello that combines an extended technique of
the bass and cello, he is able to function as both a lead and rhythm
section instrument. He has honed his distinct musical voice into a
form of playing that combines near eastern music with groove, blues
and jazz sensibilities.

Amir ElSaffar, trumpeter, composer, singer, and santoor player, is
garnering an international reputation for his work, both in the
traditional Iraqi Maqam and in jazz music. He is one of the few in
the world that has mastered the Iraqi Maqam, both on the santoor
(Iraqi hammered-dulcimer) and as a vocalist. Additionally, he has
developed a new approach to playing the trumpet, which utilizes the
microtuning and ornaments that are characteristic to Arabic music.
His suite, Two Rivers, which combines Iraqi traditional music with
Jazz, has received much critical acclaim and has received airplay on
radio stations across the world.

Brahim Fribgane, born and raised in Morocco, grew up surrounded by
North African, Gnawa, Berber, Arabic and Andulusian music. Brahim's
oud style, whether he's playing folkloric Berber songs, beautifully
complex and soulful Arabic music, or the fusion of jazz, samba,
reggae or Indian, reveals his openness to all music and appreciation
of all people and cultures. Brahim is also a briliant percussionist
who takes the dumbek to new levels, alternately blending and
contrasting rhythms while at the same time keeping his listeners and
fellow musicians rhythmically secure.
Tareq Abboushi is a graduate with honors from William Paterson University with a B.M. in Jazz Piano Performance. Abboushi has been playing the buzuq for more than a decade, starting at the National Conservatory of Music in Ramallah, Palestine. He has performed with such notable musicians as Simon Shaheen, David Brosa, and Omar Farouk Tekbilek. He has given numerous lecture demonstrations about Arabic Music Universities, Museums. He is a member of many groups in the New York area and is leading and composing for his own quintet SHUSMO. He has composed several scores for films and radio programs and was featured on several albums. He won two prizes for best film score and best CD.

To hear a recent live recording of Rufus, Gaida, and Amir on WNYC,
please click here:

http://www.wnyc.org/s...

www.myspace.com/gaidamusic
www.myspace.com/amirelsaffar
www.rufusmusic.com
www.myspace.com/brahimfribgane
www.myspace.com/shusmo