492 Cafe

A Fundraiser Concert

A Benefit Concert for Children of Gaza, Palestine

All Recordings Are Now Posted

See the special event announcement at bottom of this page.

LAYAALI - DAVID MAXWELL - ABOUD AGHA - ELLEN CANTAROW - MOCHILLA - ASKIA TOURE - HUSAM HAMDAN - SERGIO REYES - DEEMA FAISAL - HILARY RANTISI - NANCY MURRAY

Thanks to the Boston Committee for Palestinian Rights for hiring 492 Cafe. Freeman Z edited and mixed the tracks you'll find posted below. Thanks to the performers, organizers and Sound Engineers Steve Cornie and Bill Hanley for their great work.

The Concert has ended, yet these songs remain as a reminder of the plight of Gazans and all Palestinians. We would be pleased if you would make a donation by mailing your check today (address listed below.)

Recordings

Welcoming Words

1. Rev. Harris & Amy Hendrickson...

2. Nancy Murray...

The Performances

3. ABOUD AGHA, lead vocalist of Boston's Sharq Ensemble: Solo Performance

Aboud Agha is the lead vocalist of the Boston based Sharq Ensemble, and the Sayyed Darweesh project by the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble. Agha was born in 1982 to a Syrian family in Dubai, UAE. His family migrated back to their hometown in Aleppo, Syria in 1989. Aboud is influenced by Sabah Fakhri, and has expanded his repertoire to the great Egyptian masters Sayyed Darweesh, Ahmed Zakariyya, Abdel-Wahhab and Oum Kalsoum. Aboud is an accomplished oud player. He has studied Maqam, vocal technique and oud with Simon Shaheen. He currently studies music at Berklee School of Music in Boston.

Bonus: Hear Simon Shaheen in Cambridge!

Hear Aboud Agha...

4. DEEMA FAISAL, Poet from Gaza, HUSAN HAMDAN, Poet from the West Bank: Spoken Word

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Deema Faisal is a spoken word artist from Boston whose roots are deeply planted in the Palestinian Gaza Strip. With her poetry, she opens our eyes to new truths about issues in our families, our communities, and the world.

Deema has taught workshops throughout Boston where she is well known for her powerful words. She has performed at around the country at universities and theaters. Deema is passionate about her art and its power to reach out against injustice.

Hear Deema Faisal...

5. ELLEN CANTAROW, Jazz Pianist and Singer: Original songs on Palestine

Pianist, singer, and journalist Ellen Cantarow performed jazz in New England for fifteen years in duos, trios, quartets, and solo, her original compositions and arrangements played widely on Boston radio including WGBH’s “Jazz Songbook.”

In the 1980s she wrote about Israel’s occupation from the West Bank for The Village Voice and other publications. Recent visits to the West Bank have included two stints as a musician. She studies voice in New York, writes songs, and is in Boston’s acclaimed chorus, Coro Allegro.

Hear Ellen Cantarow...

  • Ellen Cantarow Part 1 (4:20 6.6MB)
  • Ellen Cantarow Part 2 (4:50 7.1MB)
  • Ellen Cantarow Part 3 (6:50 9.6MB)

6. SERGIO REYES, Songs of Struggle, Love and Revolution

Sergio Reyes was born in Chile. He is a former prisoner of the Pinochet dictatorship. He sings songs of love and struggle by Victor Jara, Violeta Parra, Atahualpa Yupanqui, Ali Primera, and his own songs, as well.

Reyes firmly believes in the proposition made by Ernesto "Che" Guevara that "revolution is an act of love" and this is what he reflects in his performance. He is not a Musician "who sings revolutionary songs," but rather, a Revolutionary who sings.

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Hear Sergio Reyes...

  • Sergio Reyes: Duerme Negrito / Lullaby for a Little Black Baby (3:30, 2.5MB)
  • Sergio Reyes: A Desalambrar! / Let's tear down the fences! (4:25, 3MB)

7. HUSAM HAMDAN, Palestinian Poet

Hear Husam Hamdan...

(short poems)

8. LAYAALI ARABIC MUSIC ENSEMBLE, Traditional Music of the Arab World

Layaali is a group whose dedication to Arabic music has earned them wide acclaim from both ethnomusicologists and audiences at sold-out performances throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Layaali’s mission is to increase awareness of Arabic music and culture through concerts, recordings, workshops and lectures.

The musicians come from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Morocco and include: Jamal Sinno (qanun and vocals), Muhammed Mejaour (nay and percussion), Kareem Roustom (oud), Michel Moushabeck (tabla, riqq, daff), and Geena Ghandour (vocals).

Hear Layaali...

  • Improvisation: Tears For Gaza
    • Part 1 (3:10, 2MB)
    • Part 2 (4:00, 5MB
    • Part 3 (3:00, 4MB) ...with Boisterous Audience Participation!

9. DAVID MAXWELL, Grammy Winning Blues Pianist: Blues for Gaza

David plays many styles of blues, jazz and improvised music, but he is best known for his soulful virtuosity and unmatched ability to reach the heart of post-war Chicago Blues. Through his work, he has gained the respect of artists, critics and fans and has established a reputation as one of the finest blues pianists alive.

"I don't think anybody could play tighter on blues piano. Maxwell plays the blues like it should be played ...the low-down, dirty, funky blues. He's got it all together." -John Lee Hooker

Hear David Maxwell...

10. ASKIA TOURE, Poet, American Book Award Recipient, The Monster's Shock and Awe

Askia M. Toure is one of the pioneers of the Black Arts/Black Aesthetics movement and the Africana Studies movement. Toure, a modern renaissance man, is also a political activist, having served with the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee's Atlanta Project; and is a co-author of SNCC's "Black Power Position Paper" (featured in the New York Times,) which influenced the movement of the Civil Rights Movement towards the Black Power revolution.

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Photo: Freeman Z

Hear Askia Toure...

-more Askia Toure from 492 Cafe

11. MOCHILLA: World Music Ensemble

Hear The Amazing Mochilla...

Mochilla features Arabic/Jazz arrangements by Mohammad Kundos of Brandeis University.

Percussion (Rik, Tabla, Frame Drum), Oud, Trombone, Cello, Piano, Saxophone, Keyboard and Words.

12. A special post-concert jam session

Layaali...

and Featuring...

HILARY RANTISI: Emcee

(Harvard) Kennedy School of Government's Middle East Initiative

NANCY MURRAY, President, Gaza Mental Health Foundation: Introduction

Nancy Murray is one of Boston's best speakers on Civil Liberties. She is also a strong voice and presence in the struggle for justice in the Middle East.

PLEASE DONATE

The Middle East Children's Alliance

The Gaza Mental Health Foundation Inc.

more info: www.gazamentalhealth.org

Please send your generous check to...

Nancy Murray, President, The Gaza Mental Health Foundation Inc.
P.O. Box 495 Boston, MA 02112
Tax-deductible 501(c)(3)

Sponsors

the Children of Gaza need your help.

$13,000 in Relief Funds Raised to date!

Special Thanks to

Cathedral Church of St. Paul Episcopal

Program (pdf)

Thanks also to Photographer Skip Schiel

May we also suggest...

And...

Peter Schumann

Bread and Puppet Theater Founder

at the Boston Center for the Arts

"The University Of Majd"

Peter Schumann performs The University Of Majd, an original piece about Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama.

Recorded by 492 Cafe for This Week in Palestine.

-Airs Sunday mornings 09:00, on WZBC FM hosted by Sherif Fam.

Please Join Us in Honoring Sherif Fam & The Truth and Justice Radio Team And The Boston Palestine Film Festival Organizers

At

The ADCMA's 3rd Annual Banquet
Saturday, May 31st 2008
Doors Open at 6:30 pm Dinner Served at 7:00

Hilton Boston Logan Airport Hotel, One Hotel Drive, Boston, MA 02128

Keynote Address by Dr. James Zogby:

The Stakes Have Never Been Higher: The 2008 Elections and US Middle East Policy

Live Music By:

Arabian Nightingales with Nader Hawa

Key Note Address: America's Middle East policy is being scrutinized heavily during this election season; getting it right has never been more important.  The risks in the region are exceedingly high, the challenges as great as ever, and the stakes are reaching new heights. Many questions abound: Do we "stay the course" in Iraq, for example, or do we change direction and find a different way forward?  If the latter option is to be pursued it will only come about because an informed public demands it of U.S. leadership. In assessing the way forward in the Middle East, we need to explore the responsibility of the American public in helping shape U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Dr. James Zogby: For the past three decades, Dr. Zogby has been involved in a full range of Arab American issues. A co-founder and chairman of the Palestine Human Rights Campaign in the later 1970s, he later co-founded and served as the Executive Director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In 1982, he co-founded Save Lebanon, Inc., a private non-profit, humanitarian and non-sectarian relief organization which funds health care for Palestinian and Lebanese victims of war, and other social welfare projects in Lebanon. in 1985, Zogby founded the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington DC-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community, where Zogby currently serves as President.

This Year's Honorees:

Dedication to Activism Through the Arts:

The Boston Palestine Film Festival Organizers

  • Salma Abu Ayyash
  • Christine Giraud
  • Katherin Hanna
  • Michael Rainho
  • Nitin Sawhney

Excellence in the Media:

This Week in Palestine, a weekly radio show on WZBC 90.3 FM

  • Sherif Fam
  • Despina Moutzouris
  • Stan Robinson
  • Steve Cornie

Tickets:
$45 Student Tickets  
$65 Regular Tickets  
$125 Premium Tickets (Includes Private Reception with Dr. Zogby)

To reserve your tickets, call or email OmarBaddar, Executive Director, ADCMA  by Friday, May 23rd, 2008.

Phone: ADCMA at 617.262.8902

Email:  info (knows pam!) adcma.org, and put "ADCMA Banquet"  in the Subject