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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
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thanks so much Greg... this is a fascinating thread - and a totally fresh topic for me... i read the whole thing!
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
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Mood: g'oud
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i still have not visited a few essential places; maurice, araboudhouse, zamelek school etc etc and some contacts not yet contacted...
i am sort of laying low til after the new year...
just relaxing and settling into my new oud - practicing - analyzing maqams - listening to arab music - reading - eating felefel...... etc etc ---going
for walks in the crazy crazy crazy city (but that is giving me headaches due to the high concentration of poisonous gases in the air---- bummer, that
one!
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abusin
Oud Junkie
Posts: 442
Registered: 3-23-2006
Location: Manchester England
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Mood: Ya Fuadi La Tasal
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Hi Edward,
Man I am following this dream travel with wide open eyes, can you please describe your feelings as you walking through this oud heaven with its sounds
smells and surrounded by ouds in different size and shapes 
I walk with you side by side through oud street in this post, but please >> please pay our friend Maurice Shehata a visit and show us his gems
too, he is a great guy greetings to him from all of us here
I wish you all the best, sure this will be a great new year eve for you today so make the sound of oud ring the goodbye tune to 2008 and the welcoming
ones to 2009.
Happy new year
Best Regards
Awad
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
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Registered: 1-20-2008
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Mood: g'oud
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Hi Awad
I noticed that NASEER is playing tonight near Zamelek, expensive but what the hell - ITS NEW YEARS EVE! ...but i wonder how serious the atmosphere
will be??? i'm curious, i think i will pass by there.
yes I will visit maurice as soon as newyears is over etc.
i absolutely love this city - it has so much old world character and has not yet become a plastic and concrete modern sh...-hole. ---but it is
headed in this direction, as is everywhere else.
my only reservation is the air, which is soooo bad that i get headaches now after only 20 minutes out in the street. I am seriously considering
shifting down to Aswan... anyway, my guess is that there is some serious Sudan-style oud and fold singing going on down there, and I have wanted to
learn something about that for many years now.
Has anyone got any experience with the oud and Nubia style playing and related thing down is Aswan????
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SamirCanada
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Edward, you could try staying in Alexandria.
its probably a little better.
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John Erlich
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1463
Registered: 8-26-2004
Location: California, USA
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Mood: Oud-Obsessed
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Hi Edward,
I visited Aswan in 1995. I don't remember much organized music happening there (I believe we caught a takht ensemble performing outdoors at a fancy
Nile-side hotel [Old Cataract?]), but Aswan is the cusp of Black Africa, and the people there are extremely musical. I remember being in a taxi,
stopped at a traffic light, and the young men in the car next to us were playing the tablah (doumbek), clapping and singing! I think the atmosphere
there also inspires Egyptians from other regions to break out into song, also! I highly recommend a several-day visit to Aswan.
I think Samir may be right about Alexandria. It's a smaller city, but large enough to (probably) have some kind of significant music scene. Maybe
Mr. Higazi (oud builder) can hook you up? If you go, don't miss lunch as Mohamed Ahmed Foul (Foul Mohamed Ahmed. Raml Station 17 Shokour St.
Alexandria, +2.03.4873576 +20 3 4879119 delivery. Hours Daily, 8:00am to 1:00 am).
All the best & Happy New Year,
John
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Melbourne
Oud Junkie
Posts: 354
Registered: 10-9-2006
Location: Mlebourne, Australia
Member Is Offline
Mood: راحة الأرواح
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Edward....
That oud I was talking about....I think that it is a Jamil Georges oud (the sons) - now that I look at the post and the links a little closer  and although theres mixed opinions on the work of the sons here - the oud seems
like a decent instrument.
I'm sure that the overwhelming presence of oud fever and Cairo fumes will balance out just fine in a few more days!!
And I send you U2U!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!\
regards..
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gregorypause
Oud Addict
Posts: 44
Registered: 10-20-2007
Location: Hungary
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Air quality was always an issue in Cairo. Are you downtown now? I'd move either into Zamalek, Mohandiseen or even Heliopolis or Maadi if I were you.
It's been about 15 years I was last there and don't remember being affected this much.
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
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Mood: g'oud
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| Quote: | Originally posted by gregorypause
Air quality was always an issue in Cairo. Are you downtown now? I'd move either into Zamalek, Mohandiseen or even Heliopolis or Maadi if I were you.
It's been about 15 years I was last there and don't remember being affected this much. |
Yeah it is pretty horrendous--- the air along the streets... there seems to be no pollution controls on any vehicles, - so many of them, and just
spewing out clowds of toxic black smoke...
...but I also guess that I will get used to it in a while, and only being here 2 or 3 months, it is not going to kill me since, otherwise I live in a
place with good air :-)
I am growing a bit attached to my room actually, I love being right on top and in the center of everything.... it's a bit addictive. However, I will
check out those other areas too.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
...funny, last night I went out for a stroll around 11pm, and after 20 minutes decided to avoid the fumes a bit and get onto some side streets....
well, 12 midnight came and passed without so much as an extraneous beep! I mean, in the Western world, it doesn't matter WHERE you are, you are going
to hear SOMETHING at midnight on NYE... but right in the middle of CAIRO (20million people), on a sidestreet downtown, and... nothing!
obviously muslims are not too emotionally attached to the new year of the Christian calendar!
...now don't ask what Xmas was like here!!!! 
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John Erlich
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1463
Registered: 8-26-2004
Location: California, USA
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Mood: Oud-Obsessed
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I believe that Egypt's Coptic Church celebrates Christmas on Wed., Jan. 7th, according to the Julian calendar, not the Gregorian calendar date of Dec.
25th.
So...stay tuned...
Peace,
John
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SamirCanada
Moderator
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yes on January 6th at midnight....
you can read this for info.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_Cairo
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
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Mood: g'oud
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interesting!
going to meet mohammed antar tonight who seems happy to get me more connected with the scene here! I'm really looking forward - - - THANKS
NAYOUD!!!
also looking forward to meeting JT who is pass thru at the moment.
still havent check maurice or naseer....
yesterday i was laid out pretty bad for a few hours with some serious stomach issues. Horrible, but luckily it passed quickly. So from now on I will
avoid ALL salads and felafel - anything that has been handled by hands or has had the chance to sit around. I will just eat the beans and pita in the
restaurants and buy my own veggies from the markets.
sorry for the lack of fotos but my bootlegged internet is extremely slow!!!
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ibn sina
Oud Maniac
Posts: 75
Registered: 1-6-2009
Location: New York
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Mood: No Mood
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Cairo
Hi Edward,
Hey good luck! I bought my oud at Gawharet al-Fan, 160-168 Mohammad Ali St. in Attaba (Cairo). There are many oud and music shops there. Mine was $150
in June, 2006, which was OK. I am a total beginner, so not looking for an expensive one. But it sounds nice.
Do you speak Arabic? There are some nice hotels in Zamalek. I was living and working there. If you're staying for three months, you should be able to
find an apt. share. There's a website: cairoscholars. You have to apply, send an email to: cairoscholars@utlists.utexas.edu
and then you can post queries there for flats. I found them very helpful. There is a large expat community. I know Nasser Shamma has an oud academy in
the old city. I don't know anything about it. It could be pretty hit or miss, but you might check it out.
good luck!
Kiki
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
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Mood: g'oud
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Hi Friends...
It has been a while since I checked in. A while back I lost my WIFI connection, and decided not to bother trying to get another. I think having
Internet in my room was good for the first 2 weeks as a way of "easing into" this new culture. But I have a tendency to get a bit addicted to the Net
- and often it becomes a bit of an 'escape' - so anyway, the result of not having it in my room is that I become in fact more "present" in the here
and now. However, it makes communication more inconvenient - although the connection speed at the cafe is about 10X faster than what I had....
Well.... things have starting taking shape - and started to roll somewhat. My health is fine again, and even the smog is not bothering me like it
used to. Also, I have started making some good friends with good people so I am not feeling as alone and potentially vulnerable as I was.
One recent highlight was a sort of surprise visit to my place by one of the world's very best Arab oud players - Joseph Tawadros. We connected thru
the oud forum and he popped around after flying in from Australia (where he lives). Funny how these things happen because Joe contacted me just a day
or so after I was trying to contact HIM thru the net, but gave up when I realised he is Australia-based. But, next thing you know he is walking thru
my door and we are jamming together on our ouds!
Joes gave me a sort of 'million-dollar in five minutes' oud lesson which in itself was worth the whole trip to Cairo for... What I learned right away
was the "correct way" hold the oud and stroke with the right hand. I realise now that this very low placement of the right arm (rather than a high
'guitar-style' right arm placement) is key to Arab technique. Many Turks also do this, but many also seem to place the right arm quite high. But high
or low - the main point is the have an extremely loose wrist, and I discovered that the low placement makes the loose wrist much much more easy.
Joe and I jammed for about 20 minutes - and I videoed that... will soon get it up on the TUBE. Joe is really a great guy--- very open, friendly,
helpful, and unassuming... hopefully we will get together again before he heads off to Paris for a 3 month artist residency there.
Otherwise, other than practicing a lot - I have been trying to get keyed into where the concerts are and where the oud players hang out. The Opera
House for me was just an aggravating experience and nothing there but Western classical music (didn't come to Cairo for that) --- althought the
National Theatre has a lot of Arabic classical music. There is an extremely cool and happening cultural center in Zamelek called the "Cultural
Wheel"... I just now returned from there -from the Mohammed Antar concert which was great- but short (only 40 minutes). This venue has MANY
interesting concerts and things happening, and it is right on the river and has a relaxed garden type atmosphere (very rare) where you can sit and
nobody expects you to buy anything... lots of young cultural people there with instruments... very very good place!
What I was NOT expecting was to be so impressed by the Arab Oud House. This place is really appealing to me. First of all- it is in the most
interesting part of Cairo--- right in the old city- you feel like the Sultan never left! The house itself is an old Ottoman palace, perhaps even a
harem....? the ceilings must be 15 meters hight and full of wood carvings... such an atmosphere!! On weekdays there is plenty of teaching going on:
qanun, saz, percussion, oud...! I just hung around and everyone is so friendly... You just pay by the month and the teacher is there for 4 hours
3X/week. So you might have the teacher all to yourself, or there may be a few other students there also. And it seems there are several teachers
rotating. The cost is very reasonable. I just met one of the oud teachers so far, and although he was not most inspiring player and teacher I've ever
met, he certainly could play some pretty cool maqam riffs, and that's what I'm looking for. I don't need anyone (except maybe someone like Joe!) to
teach me HOW to play the oud, or necessarily about the theory (which Antar has promised to help me with) - more than anything, I need to be AROUND
Arab oud players to 'catch' the style. It is the 'style' that I am after...
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
Member Is Offline
Mood: g'oud
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
Member Is Offline
Mood: g'oud
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Thanks Kiki
I am actually feeling very very settled and comfortable where I am now :-) I like it very much.
I was at a graduation concert at the OUDHOUSE, and very surprised by the quality of the graduate's playing. I don't like to be critical however. I
think the school has a real dillemna... because it is so rare that anyone these days even has INTEREST to study oud and classical music, you really
don't want to do anything or say anything that might crush that interest - - - however, if the school does not maintain a certain standard, then it
will lose status and a legitimate cultural institution.
My guess is that the average level down here is not very high (too early to state that for certain). But I am surprised at the appearant vacuum... I
mean, other than Naseer, WHO is there? And Naseer is not even playing in an Egyptian style.
Who else is there? Simon Shaheen......? he is in New york....
It seems that Naseer walked in to a vacuum and is doing his best (and a GREAT JOB) to save the oud situation. . . . . that's my take on it so
far.... subject to revision. :-)
ps- it is impossible for me to post any more fotos on the net while I am here- - - if there is interest, and someone would be willing to volunteer
to post them for me, I could send pre-compressed fotos to someone's email address in a zip file... just let me know if someone would be willing to
do this for us - - - and I can start again with fotos of cairo and scene here. THANKS!
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katakofka
Oud Junkie
Posts: 811
Registered: 1-24-2008
Location: Cleveland
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Mood: Gypsy
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Hi Edward
I am following your thread with interest and enjoying your posts.
Regarding the vacuum you mentioned it's true. As compared to Egypt population (around 80 Million) the oud players in Egypt are rare or at least are
not known.
A big name is Mamdouh el jibaali, an excellent player.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GPTjdhjTzrQ&feature=related
Many new good players came out the Oudhouse of Nasser such as Mhammad abou zekri
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=KSIUR4eEfdQ&feature=related
and hazem shaaheen
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vHCKKTWrUXs&feature=related
more to come for sure
Best
Souheil
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
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Mood: g'oud
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well by 'coincidence' last week i found myself with Joe and Mamdoh at M's place - - - they allowed me to film their jam session...
here is part one of five :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWn2ysvVUZU
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MatthewW
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1031
Registered: 11-5-2006
Location: right here
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Mood: Al Salam
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edward powell music
Hi Edward- this is slightly off topic, but I've just been looking at some of your youtube clips of you playing that double neck guitar and all I can
say is amazing!
 If anyone out there hasn't seen any of them, go check them out, like
this one:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZZ_Jsqcx5g&feature=channel_page
I'd like to ask you if you sell these or similar double neck guitars, and all the details. regards, MW
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
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Mood: g'oud
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Hi Matt
Thanks so much for the compliments and the plug! Much appreciated...
However the link you've posted doesn't lead to my clips  ...but
that is sure a cool clip regardless! Is it you playing? Bravo... Raga on OUD! Hey, we must be brothers!
Regarding seeing instruments like these... yes, recently I made something similar for a fine Russian musician nadishana.com ---this instrument is
called a DZUDAHORD and you can see clips of it, and all my other stuff on:
http://www.youtube.com/edwardpowellmusic
So it is possible that I can make a custom instrument for others it I have time. For more details just send me a PM and I am more than happy to
discuss - even just for fun to talk about possible new interesting instruments... this is my passion as you might have guessed
...thanks again bro for you kind words.
I am down here now with just an oud, and I looking forward to getting back to my Ragmakamtar, and I am sure that when I do you are going to start
hearing some serious Arabic flavour forthcoming
PS- Joe has been here and he has helped me enormously! What a player! By far the best player I have seen around here. In fact the only one I've seen
here that has inspired me in any kind if major way - - -
THANK JOE!
---more of your clips are upcoming!
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Ararat66
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1025
Registered: 11-14-2005
Location: Portsmouth, UK
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Mood: mellow yellow
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Hey Edward
Great adventure, nice to see you've hooked up with Joe - I had the pleasure of meeting up with him a couple of years ago and he gave me one of those
'million dollar' oud lessons by the side of the river Thames. It is great you are getting this in Cairo - I love your double necked oud /sitar!!!
Give my best regards to Joe if you see him again. Good luck to you - I'm really enjoying this travelogue.
Leon
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Edward Powell
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1212
Registered: 1-20-2008
Member Is Offline
Mood: g'oud
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Thanks Leon
I just today changed hotels and now I have a much much better room WITH WIFI!!! ...so I will now be much more in touch -
Stay tuned - and thanks!
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John Erlich
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1463
Registered: 8-26-2004
Location: California, USA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Oud-Obsessed
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Hi Edward,
Thanks for posting your film of Joseph and Mamdoh!
Also, I want to emphasize the importance of something you said earlier in your post regarding your lesson with Joseph:
----------------------------
What I learned right away was the "correct way" hold the oud and stroke with the right hand. I realise now that this very low placement of the right
arm (rather than a high 'guitar-style' right arm placement) is key to Arab technique. Many Turks also do this, but many also seem to place the right
arm quite high. But high or low - the main point is the have an extremely loose wrist, and I discovered that the low placement makes the loose wrist
much much more easy.
----------------------------
I couldn't agree more!
Thanks,
John
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SamirCanada
Moderator
Posts: 3404
Registered: 6-4-2004
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Amazing footage.
That made my day.
Ustaz mamdooh is drawing some expressions from the crowd. That was really a master class in modulations!!
Joe is holding it down with his wicked style!!
possibly to two best egyptian virtuosos doing what they do best.
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MatthewW
Oud Junkie
Posts: 1031
Registered: 11-5-2006
Location: right here
Member Is Offline
Mood: Al Salam
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Edward Powell
Hi Matt
Thanks so much for the compliments and the plug! Much appreciated...
However the link you've posted doesn't lead to my clips ...but
that is sure a cool clip regardless! Is it you playing? Bravo... Raga on OUD! Hey, we must be brothers!
|
Sorry 'bout that folks, I posted the wrong youtube clip which has now been changed to one of Edwards! Yes that was me messing about with a raga style
approach to the oud, and I am sure we are brothers musically!
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