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Levantine Review - Music & Dance

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  • Sohrab-Pournazeri-symphony-sm.jpg
    Shams Ensemble Blows Roof Off OC's Segerstrom Concert Hall
    a series of Persian New Year concerts with the Pacific Symphony culminates in Shams solo show
    The Shams Ensemble arrived in Irvine in March during the Iranian new year period for a series of performances at the ultra-beautiful Segerstrom Center for the Arts. For several nights, the band of Iranian master musicians partnered with the Pacific Symphony and other guest musicians/composers for a program celebrating Nowrouz. But on the final evening (Tuesday, March 27th) the Shams Ensemble took the stage unaccompanied, and even with some members missing due to various issues, managed to blow the roof off a rapt audience.
  • coverage-acrassicauda-200.jpg
    The Arab Revolution Hits the Sunset Strip
    Middle East metal bands Acraussicada and Massive Scar Era play the Whisky
    It's not often that heavy metal bands from the Middle East make it to the States, but in July the Sunset Strip witnessed what was surely the first meeting of three powerhouses of Middle Eastern metal on its hallowed ground-Egypt, Iraq and Iran.
  • caracalla-zayed-royce250.jpg
    Beirut and Abu Dhabi Collaborate on UAE Dance Spectacle
    Caracalla Hagiography of Sheikh Zayed Comes to Royce Hall
    Late in July, Beirut's venerable dance company, Caracalla, presented their latest grand epic, "Zayed and the Dream," at Royce Hall. Under the watchful eye of Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, who sat quietly in the theatre dressed in jeans and a baseball cap, some 100 cast members entertained an audience made up almost equally of Arab Americans and non-Middle Easterners.
  • Omar Souleyman
    Sold Out Night of Arab Street Music Seduces Angelenos
    Syria's Omar Souleyman was the king of the party
    Syrian singer and man of the hour Omar Souleyman stood out in the crowd with his red keffiyyeh wrapped piously around his head, accented by a pair of aviator sunglasses and a white thob. Hailing from the Al Jazeera region in Syria's northeast, Souleyman serves up the most folkloric and essential part of Syrian and Lebanese music-dabké, intended to be danced along to, more specifically, a danced called dabké.
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    Yasmin Levy, Ladino Diva, Brings Her Large Persona to the Luckman
    the international sensation made a rare Los Angeles appearance in March
    Living in Los Angeles, the access to big-name and lesser-known musicians is much like the access to a wide variety of restaurants and eateries. Should you be lucky enough to stumble upon a truly exceptional hole-in-the wall, you relish it, take a few friends there, and pray that it remains unique and unknown, so that you can enjoy it again and again. Coming across Yasmin Levy and being fortunate to see her live during one of those rare occasions when she is actually in Los Angeles elicits the same feelings.
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    Persian Gulf Trio Presents Crossroads Concert in Los Angeles
    The Shanbehzadeh Ensemble at the Troubadour
    "I didn't expect this kind of reception," musician Saeid Shanbehzadeh told a small but adoring crowd cheering him on at the Troubador, "based on what I had seen from Persian TV." One can see why, given that his music is such a far cry from the hip-hop-infused bubble-gum pop that permeates the Iranian channels here in L.A.
  • Sussan Deyhim-Jon Ossman
    September 11 Concert by Sussan Deyhim Celebrates East-West Fusion
    "Panoramic" concert at the Broad Stage gathers Americans and Iranians
    After this summer of Islamophobia and ugly reminders of the post 9/11 world, how will you say you spent the evening of September 11th, , 2010? I found myself at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, listening to Sussan Deyhim's "Panoramic"—a musical kaleidoscope of sound and song that seemed to just about blow everybody's mind.
  • Mounqaliba, the new recording from Natacha Atlas
    Mounqaliba: In a State of Reversal, the latest from Natacha Atlas
    Album explores links between Arab and western classical music.
    Natacha calls it "baroque meets Baghdad," and mixes jazz, Arabic and western classical music, with heavy emphasis on the piano riffs.
  • Natacha Atlas at the Skirball
    Anglo-Egyptian Vocalist Natacha Atlas Offers East-West Fusion
    Her live outdoor performance at the Skirball was subdued yet superb
    In a mellifluous voice that was at once deep, soft, beautiful and strong, former Transglobal Underground vocalist Natacha Atlas brought her east-west repertoire back to Los Angeles on July 29. The cross-over artist performed in a free open-air concert at the Skirball Center that was supported by the L.A. County Arts Commission and the city's Department of Cultural Affairs. A star in parts of Europe and the Middle East, Natacha Atlas has a smaller following Stateside but certainly merits a broader audience, both among those who love world music and fusion, and others with a passion for female vocalists.
  • Um Kulthum
    The Voice of Um Kulthum: A Place to Start the Dialogue
    The most beloved Arab vocalist of all time captured hearts in the west
    Many so-called "experts" on the Arab-Israeli conflict have never heard the voice of Um Kulthum. They are not simply missing some wonderfully inspiring music; they are missing the central artistic reality that has animated Arab life for many centuries.
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