Arabic

was an immensely popular singer and actor in Egypt and the Arab world from the 1950s to the 1970s. He is widely considered to be one of the four 'greats' of Egyptian and Arabic music. Abdel Halim's music is still played on radio daily throughout the Arab world. His name is sometimes written as 'Abd el-Halim Hafez, and he was also sometimes known as el-Andaleeb el-Asmar (the Brown Nightingale), on account of his sweet voice.
He was born Abdel Halim Ali Ismail Shabana (arabic: عبد الحليم علي إسماعيل شبانه) in el-Hilwat, in e-Sharqiyah Governorate, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Cairo, Egypt.
At the age of 11 he joined the Arabic Music Institute in Cairo and became known for singing the songs of Mohammed Abdel Wahab.
After singing in clubs in Cairo, Abdel Halim was drafted as a last-minute substitute when singer Karem Mahmoud was unable to sing a scheduled live radio performance. Abdel Halim's performance was heard by Hafez Abdel el-Wahab, supervisor of musical programming for Egyptian national radio, who decided to support the then unknown singer. Abdel Halim took Hafez Abdel el-Wahab's first name as his stage-surname in recognition of his patronage.
Abdel Halim went on to become one of the most popular singers and actors of his generation, and is considered one of the four greats of Egyptian and Arabic music, along with Umm Kalthoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Farid el-Atrache
At the age of 11 Abdel Halim contracted Bilharzia – a parasitic water-born disease – and was periodically and painfully afflicted by it. During his lifetime, many artists and commentators accused Abdel Halim of using his Bilharzia to gain sympathy from female fans. His death of the disease put to rest such accusations.
Abdel Halim died on March 30, 1977, a few months short of his 48th birthday, while undergoing treatment for Bilharzia in King's College Hospital, London. His funeral (in Cairo) was attended by thousands of people – more than any funeral in Egyptian history except those of President Nasser (1970) and Umm Kalthoum (1975). Four women committed suicide on hearing of his death.
His music can still be heard every day across the Arab world, and he is still considered one of the four 'greats' of Arabic music.
Abdel Halim Hafez's song Khosara enjoyed international fame in 1999 when the American rap superstar Jay-Z used it as the background for his hit ''Big Pimpin' ''.
His most famous songs include Ahwak (''I love you''), Khosara (''A pity''), Gana El Hawa (''Love, come to us''), Sawah (''Wanderer''), Zay el Hawa (''It feels like love''), and El Massih (''The Christ''), among the 260 songs that he recorded. His last, and perhaps most famous, song, Qariat el-Fingan (''The fortune-teller''), featured lyrics by Nizar Qabbani and music by Mohammed Al-Mougy. He starred in sixteen films, including ''Dalilah'', which was Egypt's first colored motion picture

Syriana - The Road To Damascus (2010) {Real World CDRW176}
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© 2010 Real World Recordings | CDRW176
World / Electronic / Folk

Conceived in London and recorded in Damascus, this fascinating CD collection is a true fusion on many levels, traversing space and time, reinventing and subverting stereotypes, consciously marrying ancient Middle Eastern sounds with Parisian cafe music…The vocals are both stunning and spooky, the swirling music at once mysterious and totally accessible.

NES can't be tied down to a specific location. Their music is between traditional Arabic and world music, jazz and pop. These three superb musicians originally met in Valencia in Spain. Percussionist David Gadea is from the region, and was already touring with Flamenco greats such as Ximo Tébar and Josemi Carmona; Matthieu Saglio is a French cellist “with a thousand tone colours” who has performed in more than 30 countries; the singer/cellist Nesrine Belmokh had worked with legendary conductors such as Lorin Maazel and Daniel Barenboim, and performed with Cirque du Soleil on international tours. Placido Domingo has called Nesrine “an exceptional artist, a wonderful voice.”

The musical traditions of the Arabic world are fused with jazz improvisation and European classical techniques by Lebanese-born oud player and composer Rabih Abou-Khalil. The CMJ New Music Report noted that Abou-Khalil has "consistently sought to create common ground between the Arab music mileau of his roots and the more global musical world of today." Down Beat praised Abou-Khalil's music as "a unique hybrid that successfully spans the world of traditional Arabic music and jazz." Although he learned to play the oud, a fretless, Lebanese lute, as a youngster, Abou-Khalil temporarily switched to the classical flute, which he studied at the Academy of Music after moving to Munich, Germany, during the Lebanese Civil War in 1978.