[New Statesman-UK] Rachel Shabi - During a business trip to London in the early 1990s, Shlomo al-Kuwaiti from Israel was sitting in a hotel lobby when he noticed an important-looking gentleman wearing a galabeya, surrounded by an entourage of bodyguards, and heard that the man was a senior minister from Kuwait. The Israeli introduced himself to the Arab minister, who asked him directly: "Are you the son of Salah al-Kuwaiti?" When Shlomo said yes, the minister grabbed him in a firm embrace. This exchange took place because of the legendary Iraqi-Jewish musicians Salah and Daoud al-Kuwaiti, whose music is now enjoying a posthumous revival. The brothers were born in Kuwait, moved to Iraq in the late 1920s, and swiftly gained fame for their groundbreaking music. Salah composed thousands of songs that took Arab classical arrangements to a new level, earning the brothers accolades across the Arab world. The brothers migrated to Israel in 1951.
2009-07-17 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive