Oxford Maqam Big Band: Cairo Nights

Oxford Maqam Big Band presents Cairo Tango & Jazz

On 1 June 2024, Oxford Maqam debuted their 1940s Egyptian tango band alongside their hit jazz big band playing 1950s classics of the genre. (www.oxfordmaqam.com)

Oxford Maqam Tango Band:
Oud and Vocals: Tarik Beshir
Vocals: Yara Salahiddeen
Qanun: Martin Stokes
Violin: Giles Lewin, Jane Griffiths
Cello: Louisa Lyne
Double Bass: Colin Fletcher
Accordion: Melissa Holding
Piano: William South

Oxford Maqam Big Band
Oud and Vocals: Tarik Beshir
Vocals: Yara Salahiddeen
Qanun: Martin Stokes
Trumpets: Jake Fletcher; Arthur Elletson
Trombones: Jai Patel; Michael Tasker
Alto Saxophone: Suzannah Letts; Juliet Beadle
Tenor Saxophone: Louis Suc; Lily Skinner
Baritone Saxophone: Jason Kwong
Drums: Micah Baker; Sophie Warner
Piano: William South
Double Bass: Dan Pearson
Violins: Alice Beadle; Rita Fernandes; Sophie Frankford; Aliyah Kassam
Violas: Samuel Teale Chadwick; Alex Seow
Cellos: Hermán Chavez; Riko Miyasaka

Musical Director: Daniel Woodfield
Musical arrangements: Jake Fletcher, Martin Stokes, Daniel Woodfield

Event Manager: Mez Dubois-van Slageren
Front-of-House Sound Engineer: John Hindley
Assistant Sound Engineer: Tom Priestley
Videographer: Becca Hunt
Lighting: James Butchart

With thanks to Isaac Lukey, KCL Jazz Society and Rebecca Degener for their support.

The first half is inspired by the 1940s, during which Cairo became the birthplace of a new style... Arabic tango. Following extensive research into songs, some of which have been forgotten for generations, Oxford Maqam has brought this unique sound back to life. Their traditional ensemble sound will be transformed by violins, cello, double bass, accordion and piano played by some of the finest musicians working today in Oxford's live circuit.

The second half sees a revival of Oxford Maqam's incredible big band, an impressive twenty-piece band complete with string section, for their popular 'Cairo Night's set which showcases the sounds of 1950s Egypt. The band is a collaboration between Oxford Maqam's ensemble and students and alumni of King’s College London and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Dance and Music.

King Edward Professor of Music, Martin Stokes, worked with KCL Liberal Arts alumni Jake Fletcher and SOAS PhD student, Daniel Woodfield, to arrange eight charts for the band. These transcriptions were based on audio records by established Egyptian singer, Abdel Halim Hafez whose works brought together an Arabic sound and other influences from around the world, including the big band scene and Latin America. These songs were featured on Arabic films, and popularised through widely disseminated vinyl and audio recordings. It is a celebration not only of the singer Abdel Halim Hafez, whose songs we present but of a specific moment in his career during the 1950s and the artists who surrounded him. People like Ali Ismail, Baligh Hamdi, Mohammad al-Mugi, Kamal Al-Tawil, as well as other creatives like Fuad al-Zahiri and Andrea Ryder. Through their different contributions, they created a uniquely cosmopolitan sound world that has since disappeared in live performance.