BAM Presents the New York Premiere of Songs of the Sufi Brotherhoods as Part of the 2005 Spring Season Featuring Hamza El Din from Egypt, Hassan Hakmoun from Morocco, and Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali from Pakistan in a celebration of Islamic music Presenting sponsor: Independence Community Foundation Songs of the Sufi Brotherhoods Hamza El Din Hassan Hakmoun Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali BAM Harvey Theater May 6 & 7 at 7:30pm Tickets: $20, 30, 40, 45 BAMtalk: Music in the Islamic World Today with Hassan Hakmoun and Rashid Ahmed Din (Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali) BAM Hillman Attic Studio May 7 at 4pm Tickets: $8 ($4 for Friends of BAM) Brooklyn, March 31, 2005—BAM’s 2005 Spring Season features a musical event celebrating the diverse traditions of Sufism in Songs of the Sufi Brotherhoods. Rizwan- Muazzam Qawwali, two Pakistani brothers versed in Qawwali song; Hassan Hakmoun, the leading performer of Moroccan trance music; and Hamza El Din, the architect of modern Egyptian music, come together for a musical exploration of Sufism’s spirituality and range. Sufism, considered the mystical side of Islam, has a rich and multi-faceted musical history …more Hassan Hakmoun in Songs of the Sufi Brotherhoods Photo credit: Derek Beres http://www.bam.org/bampress/performances/SS05/SUFI.aspx Songs of the Sufi Brotherhoods, 2 varying greatly throughout the Middle East, Africa, the Balkans, and Asia. Songs of the Sufi Brotherhoods explores the ancestry and practice of Islamic music through three distinct approaches to Sufi song. About the artists Legendary musician Hamza El Din has single-handedly forged a new music based on Nubian-Arabic fusion by combining the subtleties of Arabic music with the indigenous music of his native Nubia. He performs original compositions on the oud (the Arabian short-necked lute) and the tar (the ancient single-skinned frame drum of the upper Nile). According to The New York Times, “Music doesn’t get much starker than the songs of Hamza El Din… He is a virtuoso, but one who uses his technique toward clarity rather than display.” First discovered at the Newport Folk Festival, Hamza El Din has recorded for Vanguard and Nonesuch, and is best known for Escalay: the Waterwheel, also a commission from the Kronos Quartet, and Eclipse, produced and engineered by Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart. He has performed throughout the world in renowned venues including the Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and the Opera House in Vienna, as well as in major international festivals including Edinburg, Salzburg, Paris, Berlin, Montreux, and Barcelona. Hamza’s compositions have been performed by several major ballet companies including Maurice Beajrt Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Melissa Fenley Dance Company, and LINES Contemporary Ballet. Hassan Hakmoun, considered the leader in the traditional trance music of the Gnawa, has raised awareness of Moroccan music through his collaborations with Peter Gabriel and Paula Cole. His latest recording, The Gift, received the 2003 AFIM Indie Award as Best Contemporary World Recording and The Los Angeles Times calls his music “penetrating” and “emotional.” His performances are marked by his early experience as a street performer and continue to feature him performing leaps and twirls as he plays the indigenous sintir, a three- stringed bass. Born in Marrakech, Hassan Hakmoun began studying tagnawit (the Gnawa-related arts) at age seven, which involved singing, dancing, drumming, sintir playing, litanies, and chants. After traveling throughout Morocco and France learning from Gnawa masters, he began to incorporate Arab and Berber material in the Gnawi style. Besides performing at several venues in New York, he has also performed at the Hollywood Bowl, as well as at numerous festivals throughout North America, Europe, and Africa. Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali features two brothers Rizwan Majahid Ali Khan and Muazzam Majahid Ali Khan performing in the devotional song tradition started by their late uncle Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, the father of Qawwali song. This centuries-old tradition is both rhythmic and intense, utilizing the lyrical imagery and poetry of romantic love for spiritual journey. The group also consists of six secondary singers leading choral response and vigorous hand claps, two harmoniums, and one tabla player. Sitting on the floor in traditional Qawwali style, they perform in the general call-and-response pattern of the tradition with sudden and furious vocal breaks to encourage enlightenment and entrancement. Their latest album Day of Colours offers pure Qawwali repertoire featuring customary praise songs to Allah and Mohammad, along with those in praise of Sufi saints such as Ali Ahmed Sabir and Khawaja Muhammad Deveen in languages ranging from Persian to Urdu to Punjabi. They have been described by the Raleigh News and Observer as “raw, emotional, and thrilling… the torchbearers.” Credits Independence Community Foundation is the presenting sponsor for Songs of the Sufi Brotherhoods. …more Songs of the Sufi Brotherhoods, 3 Programming in the BAM Harvey Theater is endowed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. BAM is grateful to recognize The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, and Richard B. Fisher and Jeanne Donovan Fisher, for their leadership endowment gifts. BAM thanks its many donors and sponsors, including: New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York City Council, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, Brooklyn Delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, The Howard Gilman Foundation, The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Richard B. Fisher and Jeanne Donovan Fisher, William I. Campbell and Christine Wächter Campbell, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Florence Gould Foundation, The Kovner Foundation, The Starr Foundation, Diane and Adam E. Max, Judith R. and Alan H. Fishman, The Shubert Foundation, Inc., Skirball Foundation, and Forest City Ratner Companies. JPMorgan Chase is BAM’s lead corporate partner. Bloomberg Radio AM1130 is the official broadcast sponsor. New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is the official hotel for the Spring Season. R/GA is the sponsor of BAM.org. Yamaha is the official piano of BAM. General information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafé, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp Building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. A $21 three-course dinner at BAMcafé is available Thu-Sat for BAM Rose Cinemas ticket holders (day of screening only). BAMcafé is open Thursday-Saturday from 5pm-closing. Additionally, BAMcafé is open two hours prior to all Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater performances. Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit www.bam.org. # # # # .