Youssef Daoudi

Austrian Syndicate…the phrase immediately brings to mind the best-known and most influential of all Austrians in jazz, Joe Zawinul. And yet David Helbock’s project is much more than just a homage to his compatriot. It is a return to the roots of fusion jazz and how things developed from then on. It is also a new direction stylistically for Helbock, who has harnessed a panoply of inspiration with a refreshing openness to new sounds from far and wide. As Helbock himself puts it: "This is close to my heart." Helbock has been able to enlist the best rhythm section in Austria for the Syndicate: Raphael Preuschl on bass and bass ukulele, drummer Herbert Pirker and percussionist Claudio Spieler. The quintet also has an American in it, one for whom becoming Austrian was a matter of choice: pianist Peter Madsen. This Austrian supergroup is also a place where Helbock’s stellar international guests shine brightly: Maria João, Fred Wesley, Dhafer Youssef, Alex Acuña and Lakecia Benjamin.

From the most distant past to the modern day, some things never change - including words. The modern Egyptian Arabic dialect is one of the most distinctive in the Arabic-speaking world precisely because of its illustrious heritage from the country's ancient past. Ahmad Abdel-Hamid Youssef spends a day in the Egyptian countryside, taking note of the many expressions that once fell from the lips of the ancient Egyptians and that continue to be heard on the tongues of the modern Egyptians in their everyday speech.

"Whatever Lola Wants" is a drama film directed by Nabil Ayouch and starring Laura Ramsey, Carmen Lebbos, Assaad Bouab and Achmed Akkabi. The film premiered on 11 December 2007 at the Dubai International Film Festival and was scheduled to be released in France on 11 April 2008. In 2009, the film received theatrical distribution in the UAE. The film, about an American woman who goes to Egypt, takes its name from the song "Whatever Lola Wants" from the Broadway musical Damn Yankees which was made into a film of the same name in 1958.

Unique Yellowbird/Enja debut from Japanese trumpeter/pianist/composer and longtime Arto Lindsay collaborator Jun Miyake. Melodic, richly textured but completely unclassifiable, Stolen from Strangers features Lindsay, Brazilian superstar Vinicius Cantuaria, Dhafer Youssef and the lush sonorities of the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra and choir. For admirers of Waits, Sylvian, Chet Baker or Hal Willner, himself a longtime Miyake booster.