Al-Ahram Orchestra fans unite!

[tigerb]

I just managed to add two older CDs to my Al-Ahram Orchestra collection. Their albums are beautifully produced, the music is cleverly arranged, and "Essence of Bellydance" hasn't got a bad track on it. Yet I know nothing about the musicians themselves. Anybody have more information about them? Have any favorite tracks?

[mahsati]

No help on the musicians, but I absolutely love their music. They do some of my favorite song arrangements. :) Did you get the cds online? I'd love to have more of their stuff!

[yameyameyame]

I also love Al-Ahram Orchestra... I will be following this thread for answers

[tigerb]

My teacher used tracks from "Ya Habibi" in class, so I bought that -- through Amazon I think. Then I got a copy of "Essence of Bellydance" and loved it. I sought out "Virginia Presents Khan al Khalili" and "Layali al Sharq" on eMusic.

After that I was stumped until the guy at the Dahlal table helped me out at the Reda workshop -- he dug out "Dancer's Trail" and "Tribute to the Legend Nadia Gamal" for me and I snapped them up. (Turns out that Hollywood Music Center has both of those, too.)

All I can say after that is moar pleeze! Really great stuff. While I also like Zamalek Musicians and Cairo Orchestra (which I understand is merely a convenient label for quite diverse musicians), Al-Ahram Orchestra remains my favorite.

[andalee-oriental]

Ohh...I do love them!

So it looks like Amazon only has the Essence of Belly Dance...is there anywhere else where I can get their music as downloads?

[kiyaana]

Search for Al Ahram and Al-Ahram.

Ya Habibi

Layali Al Sharq

Virginia Presents Khan Al Khalili

Essence of Belly Dance

These are all on eMusic, too! This link will give you 25 free downloads when you sign up. Even to get these four albums, signing up for a month is definitely worth it. Hollywood Music Center has several other really nice albums available there, too.

For the albums that aren't available (yet) for download, cross-reference some of the song titles because HMC repeats tracks quite a bit. "Nadia" from "Dancer's Trail" is available for download on several other albums. They also offer different cuts/lengths of the same songs.

Ohh...I do love them!

So it looks like Amazon only has the Essence of Belly Dance...is there anywhere else where I can get their music as downloads?

[Zumarrad]

I don't have any of their albums but I have a few tracks that were on compilations. Lovely stuff!

[nitara]

Yeah, I enjoy them, too, in particular Dancer's Trail. So good!