Search - Mahmoud Fadl :: Umm Kalthum 7000

It's never going to be easy to pay musical homage to an artist as revered as Egypt's Umm Kalthum. When her radio broadcasts aired, the entire Middle East came to a standstill, and 4 million people lined the streets of Cairo for her funeral in 1975. But percussionist Mahmoud Fadl, a member of Salamat, does a fine job preserving the gravity of the songs, all of which come from the latter part of the great singer's career. Originally intended to be somewhat electronic, the orchestral arrangements turned out so well that they were kept--and they do work beautifully, with strings swooping and the percussion subtle but emphatic. The hardest job falls to young vocalist Salwa Abou Greisha, who thankfully doesn't try to copy Kalthum's style, but puts her own strong imprint on the material. She's a star in the making. Reverent and thoughtful, this is a tribute in the best sense of the word, a musical bouquet to the voice of Egypt. --Chris Nickson