One of the world's greatest openers of hearts and sonic universes is the late Hamza el Din of Nubia (an ancient land of the Nile River, in the south of Egypt and the north of Sudan); pictured with him is his 'Nubian accented' OUD.
The first time I encountered Hamza el Din, he was laying out a prayer rug on a fire escape. There was a hint of 'homeless/at-home-with-the-world' as people pushed past him into the back door of the concert hall where performers where ushered in to do sound checks. Yet, already I could feel his prayer ringing in my heart. The same people who had pushed past the small figure on the fire escape were bowing effusively at what could have been a high-powered lightbulb but was actually Hamza el Din now white-turbaned and with flowing white robes. His performance was spellbinding even before his first notes, with his first breath.
Several years later I was fortunate of circumstance to be staying with a friend who was recording Hamza el Din's final album. The glow surrounding Hamza el Din, palpable joy, was radiating deeply, and as he played I felt the presence of hundreds of his Nubian ancestors sitting in a circle around us. Later that evening the ancestors were back onstage as he opened for the Grateful Dead reunion concert.
This 40-day Virtual World Tour of Music correlates with the World Music House kickstarter crowdfund. (Click the orange words for more details!)
The first time I encountered Hamza el Din, he was laying out a prayer rug on a fire escape. There was a hint of 'homeless/at-home-with-the-world' as people pushed past him into the back door of the concert hall where performers where ushered in to do sound checks. Yet, already I could feel his prayer ringing in my heart. The same people who had pushed past the small figure on the fire escape were bowing effusively at what could have been a high-powered lightbulb but was actually Hamza el Din now white-turbaned and with flowing white robes. His performance was spellbinding even before his first notes, with his first breath.
Several years later I was fortunate of circumstance to be staying with a friend who was recording Hamza el Din's final album. The glow surrounding Hamza el Din, palpable joy, was radiating deeply, and as he played I felt the presence of hundreds of his Nubian ancestors sitting in a circle around us. Later that evening the ancestors were back onstage as he opened for the Grateful Dead reunion concert.
This 40-day Virtual World Tour of Music correlates with the World Music House kickstarter crowdfund. (Click the orange words for more details!)
No comments:
Post a Comment