DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)
Exiled Iraqi oud player Rahim AlHaj is among the 2008 Grammy nominees for best traditional world music album.
AlHaj, virtuoso oud performer and composer, was nominated for his recording of traditional Iraqi maqams - improvised songs - called 'When The Soul is Settled', recorded with master percussionist Shouhail Kaspar under the Smithsonian Institution's Folkways label.
The Grammys, which are the top U.S. honors in the music industry, are scheduled to take place Feb. 10. The nomination acknowledges AlHaj as a major influence on the world music stage.
AlHaj, 40, was born in Baghdad and began playing the oud – called the grandfather of all string instruments – at age nine. Early on, his remarkable talent was evident. He studied under the renowned Munir Bashir, considered by many to be the greatest ever oud player, and Salim Abdul Kareem at the Institute of Music in Baghdad.
He won various awards at the conservatory and graduated in 1990 with a diploma in composition. He also holds a degree in Arabic Literature from Mustunsariya University in Baghdad.
In 1991, after the first Gulf War, AlHaj was forced to leave Iraq due to his activism against Saddam Hussein’s regime and began his life in Jordan and Syria.
Under Saddam Hussein's rule, he had been imprisoned and tortured twice for political activism. His mother had sold nearly everything to raise $20,000 for a false passport and safe passage to Jordan.
It was the beginning of an odyssey that took AlHaj through nine years of exile in Jordan and Syria and ultimately landed him in the U.S. city of Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2000 as a political refugee.
Destitute, his hosts arranged for him to work at a local McDonald's to earn some money. AlHaj, who spoke virtually no English, explained that back home, he was a renowned concert musician who normally did not perform in restaurants.
Instead, he landed a job working nights as a security guard, where he was able to practice playing the oud and learn English by studying a translation of a favorite book by German philosopher Nietzsche.
Back then, the frustrated composer and musician longed to return to the Arab world and despaired that he would ever be able to resume his musical career in the United States.
Albuquerque is now home base between a growing number of performances around the country. AlHaj's CDs have also become best sellers and are frequently featured on radio shows and movies worldwide. |
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Nominees The 2008 Grammy nominees for best traditional world music album are:
* Rahim AlHaj with Souhail Kaspar, When the Soul Is Settled: Music of Iraq — Extended improvisations by Iraqi ex-pat AlHaj played on the oud, the short-necked Arabian lute.
* Various artists, Singing for Life: Songs of Hope, Healing and HIV/AIDS in Uganda
* Konono No. 1, Live at Couleur Café — Electrified improvisational music from the Congo, some of it made with found objects like car parts and scrap metal.
* Cheick Hamala Diabate & Bob Carlin, From Mali to America — Explores the links between the stringed instruments of the West African griots and the American 5-string banjo.
* Soweto Gospel Choir, African Spirit — Uplifting choral music from South Africa, including versions of songs made famous by Bob Marley and U2. |
