Felahi
Live Music for Live Dancers
Recommended Recordings for Bellydance Drummers
Most of these are available from Hollywood Music Center.
Eddie 'The Shiek' Kochak - anything, esp the 6 volumes in the Strictly Bellydancing series - available on CD from Hollywood Music Center.
Everyone loves Eddie the Shiek - beautiful melodies, good varied selection of rhythms, excellent clear drumming.
George Abdo - (on Monitor records) - anything, especially
- Joy of Belly Dancing - MCD 61764
- Belly Dancing with George Abdo - MCD 71777
Classic arrangements from the heyday of bellydance night clubs in the 60's and 70's. (I taught myself to drum with these recordings.)
Classic Egyptian large orchestra bellydance.
Adel Shams El-Din - Quarante Rythmes Du Moyen-Orient (40 Rhythms of the Middle East) - Buda 1986092 (available from amazon.com).
Amazing percussion-only album - doumbek, riq, tar, zils.
Music of the Ghawazee - recorded by Aisha Ali - Araf Records DA 703.
Field recording of traditional music from Egypt.
Hossam Ramzy presents Gypsies of the Nile - Arc Music EUCD 1628.
Excellent recording of working Egyptian Gypsy wedding band - excellent ensemble drumming.
Gypsy Fire - Traditional Crossroads 4272.
Small combo with oud, sax, zurna, tar, doumbek. Musicians include Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Richard Hagopian and Yuri Yunakov.
Naif Agby and His Orchestra - from Hollywood Music Center.
- Dabke, National Dance of Lebanon - HMC 1305
- Bedouin Sadha - HMC 1295
Debke rhythms, mainly ayub-related, very high-energy drumming.
Mohammed El-Bakkar - (available free online at el-bakkar.com. Also remastered on CD from Hollywood Music Center)
- Port Said HMC 1277
- Music of the African Arab HMC 1289
Classics from the late 1950's, good high-energy drumming, mainly ayub-related rhythms.
Douglas Adams with Light Rain - Dream Dancer - Magi 001
California fusion music with violin from the early 1980's, very pretty solo doumbek.
Gypsy Caravan from Berbati's and Key Largo - Hollywood Music Center HMC 1343.
A good example of live music for American Tribal style bellydance.
Other Learning Resources
Mary Ellen Donald books
- Doumbec Delight - a 30 lesson course in ME drumming with music theory. Also has companion discs with the exercises.
- Arabic Tambourine Also covers tar (frame drum) and mazhar (big honkin tambourine).
- Mastering Finger Cymbals
Uncle Mafufo
- 25 Essential Rhythms (CD) Highly recommended.
- Basic Rhythms for Arabic Drum (DVD)
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