About the Artist
Lotfi Bouchnak
Well-known throughout the Arab world, Lotfi Bouchnak is no doubt one of the greatest Arab musicians of the time.
Born in 1954 in Tunis, he studied voice and oud with Ali Sriti and Mohamed Azouze as youth. When Mr. Bouchnak was 27, Ahmed Sidki composed a song for him. He continued to study music with great figures in the Arab music, such as Sayed Mekawi of Egypt, Fathallah Ahmed of Iraq, and Anouar Brahim of Tunisia.
Ensemble Members:
Lotfi Bouchnak, vocal & oud (lute)
Taoufik Zghonda, qanun (zither)
Bechir Selmi, violin
Mounir Zghonda, violin
Abdelkarim Ben Halilou, cello
Mohamed Mabrouk, tar (tambourine)
Orchestra of Tangier
Ahmed Zaitouni, Director
Born in 1929 in Tangier, Ahmed Zaitouni is widely considered the last of the living legends of Andalusian music in Morocco.
Zaitouni started his music training as a disciple of Moulay Ahmed Ouazzane (1876-1965), the central figure of the Tangier music circle for many years. The young Zaitouni further studied music with Larbi Siyyar and other masters, and perfected his expertise on the oud and the violin. He completed his music education under the great Mohamed Larbi Temsamani of Tetouan, Tangier’s twin city.
Since 1962, Zaitouni has been teaching at Conservatory of Tangier. In 1981, Zaitouni founded an orchestra at the Conservatory.
When the Moroccan Ministry of Culture and Maison des Cultures du Monde in Paris produced “Anthologie: Al Ala” (archival albums of 11 complete Nawbat) around 1990, Zaitouni was appointed to record 3 Nawbat to represent the Tangier school of Andalusian music while three other masters recorded to represent schools of Fes, Tetouan and Rabat.
Ensemble Members:
Ahmed Zaitouni, direction & viola
Jamal-Eddine Ben Allal, violin
Ahmed al-Ghazi, rebab (2-stringed bass)
Hicham Zubeiri, oud (lute)
Morad Kanjae, tar (tambourine)
Said Benguerch, darbouka (goblet drum)
Said Belcadi
Although very young at 28, Said Belcadi has been a veteran in the international music scenes since he was a teenager.
Born into a Sufi music family in Tangier, he learned Koranic recitation and singing from his own father. He continued to study music with many masters in Tangier. He then started collaborating with Eduardo Paniagua of Madrid and Omar Metioui of Tangier in mid 1990’s for Andalusian music – both secular (al-Ala) and sacred (Sufi). Mr. Belcadi appeared in many CD albums produced by Mr. Paniagua and Mr. Metioui as vocalist for the last decade, and was regularly featured as lead vocalist in their concerts in Europe.
He has been a regular guest vocalist in many Sufi music festivals in Morocco. Aside from his activities as solo vocalist, he has directed his own ensembles with local musicians for the last five years.
Last year, Mr. Belcadi started working with Mr. Zaitouni as the master sought for the most authentic Andalusian voice for his orchestra.
Ensemble Members:
Said Belcadi, vocal, oud (lute) & bendir (frame drum)
Ahmed al-Ghazi, rebab & bendir (frame drum)
Said Benguerch, darbouka (goblet drum)
Abdelouahid Senhaji, nay (flute)
In New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, Mr. Belcadi performs with his quartet. In Boston, DC and Atlanta, Mr. Belcadi opens a joint concert by performing Sufi music with Mr. Senhaji’s accompaniment of nay (flute).