palestine48 - 4-28-2005 at 07:11 PM
Hey guys, sorry for all the posts but im just doing some house cleaning and i tying up some loose ends.
I wanted to mention about this guy who I saw play at the Made In Palestine art exhibit here in san francisco, which by the way was excellent. It was
art work based on the hardships of occupation, very touching and moving.
Anyways, this guy Raed Malleh was amazing, I think he goes to UC Berkely because i seen him perform at functions there and I lent him my oud when he
performed for a friends grad party once but I never met him.
He played some traditional stuff, some fairuz and i could tell you he was jammin. Ill see if theres some video online because I know this exhibit was
well organized.
on top of all that I think the oud he used was on of samirs from syria. It had the same pick guard, but it was a fixed bridge. I know samir likes
making floating bridges but it had the same simplistic style. Anyways the oud sounded amazing.
take care and happy playing
eliot - 4-28-2005 at 10:21 PM
Yes, Raed is a student at Berkeley and a very good oud player... I believe he is Jordanian-American. He rocks on the Oum Kalthoum and Fairouz
repertoire...
the oud he plays he picked up for $50. But he gets a sound much more "expensive" than that out of it!
John Erlich - 5-16-2005 at 11:37 AM
I met Raed last Friday night. I was driving home with my windows open and heard oud music when I passed a cafe on Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. I
assumed it was recorded music, but screeched to a halt and found a parking place to check it out (being an oud maniac!). Raed was sitting at a
sidewalk table with his oud. I introduced myself, went back and got my oud, and we jammed for about an hour. 
He has a very good feel for the oud--I was impressed. We need to hook him up with some other local musicians so he'll stick around after he
graduates! 
palestine48 - 5-16-2005 at 06:04 PM
Do u know where he got it from, I thought it was a great oud.
John Erlich - 5-17-2005 at 11:09 AM
Ahalan Rami,
I got Raed's card. E-mail me (shalomsalaam01@hotmail.com) if you want his e-mail--you can ask him yourself.
I thought his oud looked pretty well-made. The strings felt like they were strung very tightly, though, and I think this made the sound brighter
(less deep) than it could sound.
Maasalaama,
John