The fusion of musical styles has always come easy for Simon
Shaheen. The Arabic multi-instrumentalist started his musical
career at the age of five, when he picked up both the oud and the
violin.
“I was also listening to a great variety of music: Turkish
music, Indian music, American jazz,” Shaheen said.
“When I came to New York in 1980 to continue my studies, I
was exposed to many excellent musicians who live here and passing
musicians who come to perform from different countries. We worked
together, and little by little this idea started to grow … this
concept of fusing multiple cultures into one genre.”
Shaheen performs at Royce Hall this Sunday, bringing with him a
major result of his extensive musical exposure: his multi-ethnic
group Qantara, which has been touring the world and exposing the
masses to their melange of different cultural flavors.
“There’s so much music in the world, and for me
it’s basically a universal sound,” Shaheen said.
“And I noticed even when I first arrived here that Americans
have this openness. They like to absorb music, arts and food from
different parts of the world.”
Shaheen came to the United States from studying music in
Jerusalem to attend the Manhattan School of Music, and then
Columbia University. Since the early 80s, when he created the Near
Eastern Musical Ensemble devoted to traditional Arabic music,
Shaheen has spent a major part of his career in education. Despite
the presence of American openness, Shaheen has had to work hard to
provide exposure to foreign musical styles.
“I think the people at the grassroots level are much
better at understanding the different music from different parts of
the world,” he said. “This was part of my thinking
about Qantara and recording “˜Blue Flame.’ With this
type of form, it could be more accessible to a larger audience; it
will be easier to identify because it has some similarities with
things like jazz.”
Qantara consists of 12 other musicians, who Shaheen claims are
some of the most talented music makers he’s come across since
making his move to the United States from Jerusalem. The musicians
include North African rhythms specialist Jamey Haddad, oud player
Najib Shaheen, French bassist Francois Moutin, jazz guitarist Adam
Rogers, saxophonist Billy Drews and UCLA’s own professor of
ethnomusicology, Ali Jihad Racy, who plays the Buzuq, a long-necked
fretted lute.
“The question is how to incorporate all these musical
ideas in a way that will sound natural and organic, where no one is
imposing their sound on the other,” Shaheen said. “As
far as the form in terms of genre, this kind of music is a genre in
itself.”
Shaheen has occasionally run into the naysayer questioning his
vision of a “universal sound,” but he’s quick to
point out that he hasn’t in any way forgotten his roots. He
still spends a major part of his time exposing others to
traditional Arabic music with his Near Eastern Musical Ensemble.
But it’s his Qantara group that brings out the
musician’s truly creative endeavors and distinctly modern
approach to music.
“I remember when we (Qantara) played for 50 people in the
early 80s,” he said. “Now we can play our concerts for
anywhere from 500 to 3,000 people.”
Simon Shaheen and Qantara perform at Royce Hall this Sunday at 7
p.m. Tickets are $15 for students. Call the CTO at (310) 825-2101
for more information.