Steve Kouyoumjian:  I saw this man perform when I was a child. He’s my earliest influence and the first person I’ve ever seen playing the Darabuka.  He made an amazing impact on me that lasts to this day.  This guy has it all, from tasteful, exquisite phrasing to fiery solos that will take your head off.  His style incorporates the best techniques and soul of Arabic, Turkish and Armenian playing all in one man.  You can find him on George Abdo’s recordings of belly dance music.  You can find out more about his current work by visiting his web site (www.StevenDrum.com).

Hossam Ramzy:  He is my favorite drummer of anyone recording and performing today, and is everything I could ever hope to be in a musician.  This man is a wealth of knowledge for all Egyptian percussion because he plays everything.  Back when I first started playing, I heard his track "Fallahi” from Passion Sources and within seconds was confirmed in what I wanted to learn and play.  His recording immediately brought back the memories of the exciting music I heard as a child.  Hossam re-introduced it to me.  I had the pleasure of taking a series of workshops with him, I found him to be a wonderful person and a great teacher; not every great musician has these qualities, but he certainly does.  The experience of seeing him sitting a few feet from me, seeing him play live, is something I’ll never forget.  I’ll always remember his lessons, advice and wisdom.  Listening to his work, you really hear  how to layer drum patterns with Riq, Duf, Tabla, zils and Mahzar , and how they work properly together in an ensemble.  I absolutely love Hossam’s style of playing - his phrasings and his tones are incredible, full of flavor and total groove.  Two of my favorite CDs are Sabla Tolo, and the follow-up release Sabla Tolo 2, and of course his playing is brilliant.  This recording  is great for drumming with  the belly dancer because the tracks are rhythms and solo parts designed for dancer and drum dialogue.  There are tons of rhythms and tempo changes and beautiful accenting.  Right here he gives you the secrets of Egyptian drumming.  Hold onto your head because it’s fast!  Also try his Rhythms of the Nile.  I also very frequently listen to Source of Fire, which has wonderful songs with the jazzy arrangements which Hossam does so well.  Also, check out Immortal Egypt with Phil Thornton.  A favorite recording of mine is Hossam Ramzy: A Tribute To Samy el Bably.  The late Samy el Bably was a phenomenal Arabian trumpet player from Egypt, with the most amazingly warm tone since Miles Davis, yet very different from Miles.  Hossam says “Samy is the only man I know who can make the trumpet sound like an Arabian instrument.”  The combination of Samy and Hossam together is magic.  I first heard Samy’s horn on Hossam’s Source Of Fire, and I was so struck by the beauty of his playing, I felt it go straight to my heart.  I was very happy to receive this collection of songs, all of which Samy is playing on.  The consistency in which Hossam continually creates wonderful, quality albums is always high.  Every time I get a new album of his I always enjoy it, and always find him doing something new.  He’s never rehashing the same thing over and over again.  This is very evident with these additional releases:
Faddah, Secrets of the Eye, El Amar, Sabla Tolo 2, and Flamenco Arabe.  Hossam’s also done such wonderful work on Peter Gabriel’s Passion (The Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack) and additional Gabriel albums such as Us and Up.  Mr. Ramzy is also featured on the Loreena McKennit album, The Book of Secrets, which is an album I really enjoy.  I also highly recommend Chick Corea's album The Ultimate Adventure, as Hossam plays wonderfully on two tracks. It's a great album of excellent compositions.
Be sure to visit Hossam’s home page (www.hossamramzy.com and www.1212.com/a/ramzy/hossam.html) for updates and latest info concerning CDs, workshops and performances.  Also, you can find there the latest workshop and performance info for Serena Ramzy, who is an incredible dancer/performer/teacher.  If you ever have the chance to study with Hossam Ramzy, you will be most fortunate.  They don’t call this master percussionist “The Sultan Of Swing” for nothing.
Many thanks to Hossam for inspiring me every day, and for being such a great friend and mentor.

Souhail Kaspar: This man, from stories I’ve heard by those who’ve met him, say that he is a living encyclopedia of Arabic drumming and I believe this is true.  Suhail has a wonderful cd that he has recorded with Ali Jihad Racy called Mystical Legacies, which has been a favorite of many musicians I know. Ali plays many lead melody instruments - Ney flute, Oud, Buzug, and bowed Tanbur.  Suhail matches him beautifully and tastefully with his own varied assortment of Riq, Egyptian Tar, and Darabuka.  His playing is so clean and precise, he is like a diamond.  It’s always a joy and inspiration to hear him play.  I was blessed with the chance to study and take a couple of lessons with Souhail in November 2003.  It was a wonderful experience to learn from him, and an honor to get to know such a nice person, which he truly is.
As I’ve mentioned before, he is a brilliant musician, and an amazing teacher.  To experience him live, in person, is the highest honor.  It was an unforgettable experience to attend a concert with Souhail and another favorite musician, Dr. A.J. Racy.  The two together are incredible, and in a league of their own.
I have the highest regard to Souhail’s playing, from his masterful sense of serving the music, to his incredible tone and supreme tastefulness.  To my ears it is perfect drumming.  In addition to the previously mentioned Mystical Legacies, also I recommend very highly The Magic of John Bilezikjian with Souhail Kaspar and the incredible album I love dearly, Khaliji, featuring the wonderful Oudist and vocalist Naser Musa.  Souhail Kaspar is a musician that every drummer should be seriously paying attention to.  You can find out more about him by checking out his web site (www.neareastmusic.com). Be sure to look for Souhail's excellent instructional dvd for Arabic Tabla and Riq.

Arto Tuncboyaciyan:  This man is a real treat - listen to his contribution to Richard A. Hagopian's Gypsy Fire cd and you’ll know why.  His playing has an “old school” style that I love to this day - meaning that it’s not super flashy, but knowing exactly what to play and what not to play; skills that are very trim and lean sounding.  Arto has the most wonderful tones; it sounds like he plays the clay Derbeki with a natural head on the Gypsy Fire cd.  The tones ring like a bell, and he punctuates accents in his rhythms with slaps that make me smile everytime and say “Man, I want to play just like that!”  The Gypsy Fire cd is a perfect example of good Turkish and Armenian drumming to learn from.

Hamza el Din: Known for his wonderful Oud playing and singing, Hamza is a great player of the Egyptian Tar.  Of course lots of good Nubian and Egyptian rhythms circulate through his recordings, I highly recommend listening to Hamza  for many reasons.  Check out the cds Al-Oud, Music of Nubia, and especially Eclipse.

Glen Velez: I can’t say much more that he hasn’t said brilliantly a million times over with his own playing. Legendary on the frame drums, Velez mixes Middle Eastern , South Indian, Latin, and Jazz to his pallet.  I strongly  recommend finding his cd Rhythms of the Chakras.  He also has great instructional videos; The Fantastic World Of Frame Drums is a must.  You can find out more about him by checking out his web site (www.glenvelez.com).

Layne Redmond:  Layne is the author of a very interesting and informative book called When The Drummers Were Women.  I’ve done a workshop with this wonderful musician and I found her to be a great teacher, too.  Layne is an amazing Frame drummer of exceptional skills and good taste.  The Riq is her main instrument of expression, and any drummer would be more than fortunate to get a chance to study with her.  Check out for her web page (www.layneredmond.com) for info on recordings and instructional videos.

Mary Ellen Donald:  I’m sure many of you are familiar with her fantastic drumming and wonderful instructional books and tapes.  I’ve rarely met an American drummer who hasn’t gone through the Doumbek Delight book.  Mary Ellen also has an instructional book and tape set for Arabic Tambourine. Some of you also might want to check out her tapes Middle Eastern Drumming for Intermediate and Advanced.

Uncle Mafufo:  Also known as Armando, he has many great cds available; I recommend 25 Essential Rhythms for Middle Eastern drumming.  His band Siroccohas many wonderfully orchestrated, layered drum tracks on their recordings that really prove that drum sounds are beautiful and not noise-makers.  I also recommend his instructional videos for Doumbek and Frame drums.  You can find out more about him by checking out his web site (www.sirocco-music.com/mafufohomeindex.html)

Misirli Ahmet:  Now here is a drummer from Turkey, of amazing ability.  His name means "Ahmet from Egypt," a name chosen for when he’d studied percussion there.  Ahmet influences many percussionists throughout the world with his unbelievably original techniques and rhythm concepts.  You ‘ll wonder if you think you are hearing what you think you are on his recordings!  To my ears, he sounds like he’s influenced by Indian Tabla, by the application of his fills and his phrasing and finger work.  It also appears that he incorporates a sizable influence from Brazil into his works of  magic.  Ahmet will have the same kind of colossal influence on Darabuka playing as Zakir Hussein has had on Tabla players, or percussionists world over. You need to check out his recording mel de cabra or the recordings he’s done with the band Asia Minor.  This is Darabuka playing from a whole other universe altogether.  Be sure to visit his web page (www.ahmetmisirli.com).

Seido Salisfoski:  Darabuka player from Macedonia, now New York, he plays with the unbelievable band Matt Darriau’s Paradox Trio.  I’m so into this band, their influence is very large on me right now.  A group strongly influenced by Jazz, Balkan and Yiddish music, this is the perfect platform for this drummer to take off  into rhythm paradise.  I first heard of this guy when I’d seen Paradox Trio play at a club.  Seido was recommended by a friend telling me “You’ve got to come see this guy play tonight.”  Well, I did, and I was floored!  He plays traditionally, yet will play jazz patterns and even incorporates using ride and splash cymbals, using a drum-stick in one hand, and playing the Darabuka on his lap with the other.  Doing more with one hand than some do with two!  I just loved his style and feel, and he’s fast when he fires off these great riffs and complex patterns.  I learned this fast, one hand double-doum technique by watching him.  I often use it in my phrasings and fills, and I always think of him when I play the fill.

Harem:  Turkish percussion group.  I love their cd Rhythm Color.  This group of guys sound largely influenced by Misirli Ahmet, but they are far from being a rip-off.  The playing is fantastic, and I love the mix of tradition and house music structures.  Any Dj’s or house artists should really listen to what guys like this and others are doing particularly in Turkey, with dance grooves.  The tracks are so fat, and groove so hugely, it makes the club music here sound like a whisper.  These guys play all the grooves too, it’s not just sampling.  Again, this is something the Americans need to learn.  You need to find this, you’ll love it.

Ali Hafid:  This guy is a wonderful drummer who played with a group called Feenjon.  The only recording I have with Ali on it is The Feenjon Group: An evening at the Café Feenjon.  I don’t know if this album is still in print or not, I’ve got it on vinyl like most of the old recordings I have.  This group had a splendid mix of Turkish, Arabic, Yiddish, Greek, Spanish, and Russian songs into their sets.  Ali just grooves so splendidly, with great flare and taste. The tones, rolls, and superb slaps on his clay Darabuka is pure joy.

Mohamed Ali:  A truly beautiful drummer from the group The Musicians Of The Nile.  Seriously, check out their recordings on the Real World label, Charcoal Gypsies and Luxor To Isna.  Fantastic Egyptian rhythms, and this guy plays with such great feel and soul that there is plenty to learn from on these recordings alone.  Pure Joy.  This band is my one of my favorites.

Ibrahim Turmen:  Drummer from Omar Faruk’s Sultans band.  Look for The Best of The Sultans recording. There is a track for the Darabuka solo that is splendid, with fantastic call and answers back and for from bongos and darabuka.  The phrasings and tonal ranges between the two having dialogue is to die for.  The track also has all of this great reverb on the production that sounds really wild.

Buddy Sarkissian:  Drummer from Richard Hagopian’s Kef Time band.  Buddy was a huge influence on many who played in the late 60’s and throughout the 70’s.  The notes to the Kef Time cd claim that he plays “multiple dumbegs, do to his years as a traps player in jazz.”  The sounds of the drums are typical for 60’s recordings, where there is an emphasis on heavy beat, particularly on the Armenian recordings of this era. The tones are always thick and heavy, with rock solid grooves, very little riffing if any at all.  It’s as though the drums from this era were always slightly loose on the recordings, making them sound really heavy. Drummers from this era were great supporters of the rhythm, they played solid and steady and weren’t interested in showing off.  You really hear the power of their restraint, which is to be hugely admired. Some of these older generations of players are over-looked by some younger drummers, because they didn’t show off, or they “play too simply.”  To think this is misssing the point, because the best drummers allow the melody to breathe, by playing rock solid rhythm, then maybe riffing only when needed.  These older guys to me are like the old Zen-masters of Middle Eastern drumming, and I love them all and everything they stood for musically.

Leon Manoogian:  He is an example of being the wonderful support drummer - meaning the sometimes unsung heros that played behind the great lead men.  I had the pleasure of seeing Leon many times as a kid, playing right alongside Steve Kouyoumjian in George Abdo’s band.  Steve’s right hand man was Leon accompanying him with bongos or conga.  The Abdo recordings with these two lay out the perfection of two drum parts totally in sync with one another, without anyone trying to out-play the other.  Talk about a dream partnership!  A big learning curve for many people, is to try to listen and appreciate two or more drummers playing together, not just listening to the lead.  Hear them together, and the much larger picture becomes clearer. Listen for them on Belly Dancing With George Abdo and George Abdo’s Joy of Belly Dancing.  You can learn more about Leon at home.earthlink.net/~drums01.

Burhan Orcal:  He is a fabulous and amazing drummer from Turkey, a brilliant musician, and a true force of nature.  I had the great fortune to see Burhan and the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble play a concert in October 2002 at Emory University, and it was the most incredible concert I’d ever attended.  The ensemble played through a collection of Turkish Art-music and Gypsy Rom music with such soulfulness, virtuosity and high energy, I’m amazed they didn’t blow the ceiling off of the concert hall.  His mastery of rhythm and his super-advanced finger and hand techniques are incredible to experience, you’ll ask yourself do you really believe your eyes and ears if you see him live.  To try to describe him would not do him any justice.
I had the pleasure of meeting him at a question and answer seminar earlier that day, prior to the concert, and I found him to be a very warm, extremely humorous, and he had lots of sound wisdom, great info and techniques on drumming, all of which he gave genuinely and freely even after being tired from an airline flight.  Then he and his brilliant group of musicians gave a concert of the highest quality.  I was exhilarated from the experience for days!  Please check out his album The Sultan’s Secret Door.  To see Burhan and the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble live is an experience you’ll never forget!

Michel Merhej: I saw this wonderful percussionist perform a concert with Simon Shaheen. A highly accomplished master of the Riq, he performs in the classical Arabic style of playing.  He has performed with the legendary Fairouz among many others.  Currently he performs with the Near Eastern Ensemble and teaches percussion in New York.  I loved watching and listening to this guy play, he was fabulous with perfect technique and feel.  He’s a pure inspiration that made me go practice my Riq more.

Amir Matri:  He is a great drummer from Syria, who lives in Canada.  I was very fortunate to take a drum workshop from him in Atlanta, and he was incredible to watch and listen to, an amazing drummer he is.  Amir’s also a very good teacher, extremely knowledgeable of so many styles and traditions, and the history of such.  I found him to be a very approachable, likable and with great humor.  He gave freely of himself (even long after the workshop was over) showed us any techniques, and answered any questions we asked of him.  For more info on this fabulous musician see www.arabesquedance.ca
 
 

George Abdo:  Call me biased, but this man’s recordings are textbook for musical arrangements and choreographed routines for the dancer.  The following albums offer a supreme mix of Arabic, Turkish, Greek, and Armenian songs that every dancer and musician should have in their collection:
The Joy Of Belly-Dancing
Belly-Dancing with George Abdo
More Belly-Dancing with George Abdo
The Magic of Belly-Dancing
They call him “The King of Belly-Dance Music.”  You can’t argue with that!

Richard A. Hagopian:  This guy’s influence has been huge.  The best of the “old style” Armenian and Turkish folk songs with some of the best musicians to date for Armenian and Turkish recording.  Hagopian is an amazing Oud player, and his rough vocal style has all the soul and passion you would expect to hear from this kind of music. You get the real deal here.
Gypsy Fire (I loved this cd so much I named a group after it!)
Kef Time
Best Of Armenian Folk Music
Armenian Music Through The Ages

Chalf Hassan:  He is a wonderful percussionist and vocalist from Morocco, whose cd’s I find very enjoyable.  Hassan’s recordings are an excellent source for learning Moroccan rhythms on a variety of drums.
Songs and Dances from Morocco
Belly-Dance from Morocco

Ali Jihad Racy:  This is a really good collection of Egyptian Taksims or  instrumental improvisations.
Ali plays the Oud, Ney flute, bowed Tanbur, and Buzuq, with accompaniment by the brilliant Suhail Kaspar on percussion.  Suhail plays Darabuka, Riq, and Egyptian Tar.  These two musicians are perfect for one another and the results are exquisite.  The performances are so spacious with just two instruments playing, you can really feel their artistry breathe.
Mystical Legacies

Thrace:  Selim Sesler Band
The Road To Kesan: Turkish Rom Music
I’ve been into this group’s stuff very much lately.  This album is a must for those of you who love the wedding style music.  This album has been inspiring me so much to purchase a Davul.  If you love good Gypsy music, this will rock your world big time.  Also, check out their album Karsilama.

Music Of Islam, Volume 4: Music of the Arabian Peninsula, Doha and Qatar
There’s tons of great music here, fantastic gulf rhythms that have been a massive inspiration for learning for me lately.

The Master Musicians Of JouJouka
I’d seen this group live, at a concert in Cambridge, Ma. back in ’95.  This is a group that plays powerful trance music from the Rif region of Morocco, and it’s very intense stuff.  Ranging from huge, bombastic drum and Gaita (reed) ensembles on their album The Master Musicians Of JouJouka, featuring Bachir Attar, to delicate flute and singing pieces on the Black Eyes album, you’ll find some nice treasures. This stuff is very different than the more familiar Gnawa music of North Africa.

Hamdulillah, Volume 2: Fes Festival of Sacred Music
Two cd’s worth of exquisite music of the soul, from Andalusia, Morocco, Hindustan, Jewish, Central Asia, Turkey, Iraq, Java and Iran.  This collection is like a dream, as if the whole world actually got along together.  All of the artists present here just fill your heart to the brim.  Highly, highly recommended.

Talip Ozkan
The Dark Fire
Superb Baglama player and singer from Turkey.  A very enjoyable artist here, full of soul and expression. This is pure, traditional Turkish folk music, and Talip Ozkan represents how lovely the human voice and Baglama join as one.

Sulukule
Rom Music Of Istanbul
This recording has so much energy and great instrumentation.  I love the passion in the women’s vocals on some of the tracks.  Sulukule is a Gypsy district in Istanbul, this music represents what you’ll hear in the cafés and after hours parties at peoples homes of the Rom Gypsies.  There’s lots of great rhythms, Oud, Violin, Kanoun and Zill work.

Mevlevi
This is of Rumi’s order of Sufi’s from Turkey, incredible music, and some of the music I listen to very frequently.  The two recordings I have are Returning and Mevlana: Music of The Whirling Dervishes.

The Music of Armenia (Six volumes)
Talk about pure gold!  The volumes divide up into sections for Choral music, Sharakan/Medieval music,  Duduk (reed voice and heart and soul of mother Armenia) Kanoun, Folk music by the Shohaken ensemble, and Nagorno from Karabakh.  Whew!!  If you love Armenian music like I do, this is the mother load.

Djivan Gasparyan
Master of the Duduk, you will weep when hearing this beautiful music of Armenia.  I strongly recommend finding Apricots From Eden, Moon Shines At Night, and my most favorite, the hauntingly beautiful I Will Not Be Sad In This World.

Chave Mini “You are my eyes”: Songs from Turkish Kurdistan
This is a compilation of studio and field recordings made by two friends of mine, Greg Scarborough and Jordan Bell.  An amazing collection of tracks featuring many Kurdish instrumentalists and vocalists, this cd has an amazingly intimate and personal quality when you listen to it.  In addition to the great tracks, the cd comes with a booklet of wonderful photographs as well as detailed historical info.  Greg and Jordan are both wonderful people who have done much fund-raising and non-profit work for both the Kurdish and Macedonian Gypsies.  Please see their web-site at www.culturalcornerstones.org or e-mail them at [email protected]

Shivan Perwer
Ya Star
Shivan is the  most beloved and well-known Kurdish singers of today.  I was fortunate to have seen him in concert in September 2002 and it was a riveting, high-energy and most satisfying concert.  So many of the Kurdish community of Atlanta piled on stage to line dance as he played, they were so moved that they couldn’t stay in their seats!  It was fabulous to experience.  This is a cd I’d purchased at the concert featuring Shivan’s splendid voice and superb Baglima playing.  These cd tracks are of a poetic, political and personal nature - however, the Baglima seems to take a back-seat to some over-done production that seems to obscure the power of his voice and instrument.  Unlike the concert I’d seen with just him and Tombak and Daf accompaniment, which was much more to my liking.  Check for some of his other recordings, as I say he’s an amazing singer and Baglima player.

Xalid Rashid
Music from Kurdistan
I always enjoy this one, lots of great Kurdish grooves, moving songs and haunting melodies, highly recommended.  Instrumentation includes: vocal, Balaban (reed) Santur, Oud, Dutar, Kamancha, Tombak and Daf.

Yemen: Music of the High Plateaux
A great collection of field recordings, featuring many fabulous instrumentations such as vocal, Mizmar, Tabl, Oud,  Tasa and Marfa (clay or copper kettle drums) and even a metal tray used as percussion.  The tracks have that direct immediate presence and quality that makes to feel like the performers are right there with you, that’s the special quality that field recordings have that I love so much.  This recording also features some great tracks of the great Muslim “Call to prayer” in between songs.

Music in the world of Islam: Human voice and Lutes
I love this cd so much!  This is the first volume of a set.  Sadly, it’s out of print and I can’t find the second volume called Bagpipes, Drums and Rhythms.  More of the great field recordings, including many folk songs, poems and wonderful sufi, Bedouin wedding songs and religious pieces.  One particular gem is a recording of pearl-divers from Bahrain with amazing hand-claps/drum rhythm structures.  This cd contains recordings from Arab, Afghan, Uzbek, Turkish and Kurdish peoples.

Sif Safaa: New Music from the Middle East
I really enjoy this one and I’m starting to appreciate the newer music much more than I used to, mostly through the bands I play in, when we do modern music.  I still don’t like the pop music that comes from the Middle East, this isn’t a pop album thankfully.  Features great Arabic music from Mohamed Mounir, Hanna, Hadi Ahmed, Saleh Khairy, Mohamed Fouad, Abu Hilal, and Kazim Al Sahir.

Folk music of Turkey
Yes, more field recordings!  You can never have too many, they are the most realistic music to hear ever. These were done in the late 60’s and early seventies.  Recordings cover music from Central and Southern Anatolia and my favorite music from the Black Sea area.  This cd is chock-full of vocals, Baglima, Black Sea fiddle, Kaval and some superb Davul and Zurna wedding music that’ll blow your head off.  The Zurna player on here is phenomenal.  This cd is highly recommended.

Kudsi Erguner Ensemble
Tatyos Efendi
Anything with Kudsi is good, this is no exception.  This cd contains compositions of splendid Turkish Art music (classical) from Armenian/Turkish composer Tatyos Efendi.

Ensemble Huseyin Turkmenler
Turkish Belly Dance
This is a great cd of old-style Turkish belly dance music, with some modern instrumentation like the keyboards, however they sound good and are tastefully done.  There’s lots of good familiar songs here, great drumming as well.  Good source material for both dancers and musicians.