In the context of the big world in which we are all brothers, the oud deserves a big place, not just a regional one. This is probably what he is
thinking, that the oud will best propagate if it can cover many different styles and sounds. He has an apparent fondness for an "Andalusian" type
sound. Also, he is exploring harmony and counterpoint, which, as we can hear in some of the jam sessions, are not instinctive to Arabic players, but
are advantageous for ensemble playing, and will hopefully find their way into tomorrow's Sharqi music in a more sophisticated way than practiced now
in pop songs. So he's exploring, and I can't fault him for that.
That's my guess anyway. Those who favor approaches different from Mr Shamma's should attend and strongly promote their agenda, not turn their backs on
festivals of this sort. Hopefully there's room for many different visions.
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