Where Mini Me Lives: Aromates and "Minimaroc (Minimorocco)"

Some classical Andalusian music today for our random tune. Minimaroc (Minimorocco) is by the Aromates, a French ensemble Aromates led by percussionist Michèle Claude. The ensemble fuses the ancient and contemporary, uses old and new instruments, and explores into gypsy and Cuban rhythms and jazz in its music. Its first album, Jardin des Myrtes (Garden of Myrtles - 2005), features traditional Arab-Andalusian songs played by the musicians on traditional instruments. The music takes you straight back to an Umayyad court in Spain - you might even be in the presence of the Caliph himself. Minimaroc (Minimorocco) can be found on Jardin des Myrtes (2005). Because it's the last track, it appears to be two songs, one a hidden track. The first tune ends at about 2:30 and the second one begins at about 3:48.

Come off Your High Horse: Jannat and "Hadret Elmohem"

Today's random tune is performed by Moroccan singer Jannat - one of the youngest female artists on the Middle East music scene. She is known to be able to sing in almost all Middle Eastern Arabic dialects. She is also known for her voice and for her love of Arabic classics. As a young singer, she won many contests and eventually found herself singing at the Cairo Congress of Arab Music and on the stage of the Cairo Opera House. She turned to singing professionally in the early 2000s. She has released four solo albums. This song, Hadret Elmohem, can be found on her 2013 album Hob Gamed.

Indulge Me: Gaida and "Indulgence"

Today's random song is by Syrian singer Gaida, who has been dubbed "The Syrian Nightingale." Born and raised in Damascus where she awoke to the sound of her father's radio and was taught Middle Eastern songs word by word by her mother, she has crafted her songs to combine the elegance of Arab poetry with Middle Eastern vocal techniques and the sensibilities of her home in New York. This song, Indulgence, can be found on her 2010 album Levantine Indulgence.

Soul to Soul: Cheb Jilani and "Bahebakk"

Today's song is by Cheb Jilani, the stage name of Hussein Jilani, a linguistically versatile singer and one of Libya's most popular music stars. Taught by his father to sing Arab folk songs, he became known for his deft renditions of complex songs by Arab pop artists. He mastered classical Arab singing, and he also broadened his appeal across the Arab world by learning various Arab dialects. This song, Bahebakk, is a love song in which Jilani declares "I love my soul because it melted together with your soul." You can find Bahebakk on the 2005 compilation album Putumayo Presents: North African Groove.

At the Berber's: Malika Zarra and "Tamazight"

Malika Zarra brings us the random tune for today, called Tamazight. Zarra was born in Morocco to a Berber mother and a Moroccan father and she grew up in Paris though her family remained culturally Moroccan in the home. She became interested in jazz because she noticed its improvisational similarities to Arab music, and studied jazz in Tours and Marseilles. She began getting attention when she started singing jazz standards with her own Arab translations. She is influenced by styles such as traditional Berber music, Gnawa music, Chaabi, French popular music, jazz, house, funk, dance, and traditional African music, and her personal influences include artists such as Farid al-Atrash, Um Kalthoum, Warda Al-Jazairia, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby McFerrin, Thelonious Monk, Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin. You can find Tamazight on her 2011 release Berber Taxi.

Innovator: Imane Homsy and "Sara"

The video for this song is not the greatest, but we had to include it. Imane Homsy is a deceased musician who can truly be called an innovator of music. A master of the qanun, she took an instrument that had once been relegated to simply repeating the musical phrases of the singer in Arab classical music and turned it into an instrument that could stand on its own. Originally a two-fingered instrument, she expanded it to a ten-fingered technique. She and her music are cultural institutions across her native Lebanon and the Arab world, and she trained a number of students who continue her legacy. Sadly, she passed away in 2013 at the age of 45. This song, Sara, can be found on her 2008 album Seigneur Kanoun.

Between Worlds: Aromates and Michele Claude with "S'eloigner de Moi"

Aromates, which gives us our tune today, is the ensemble put together by Michele Claude, a French percussionist. Their music straddles both time and space, sitting between Occident and Orient, traditional and modern, composition and improvisation. This song, S'eloigner de Moi, comes from the 2005 Aromates album Jardin de Myrtes, which explored Arab-Andalusian music of the 9th through the 19th centuries.

Stormy Weather: Marcel Khalife and "Promises of the Storm"

Our random song today is from Marcel Khalife, a Lebanese singer, composer and oud player. A winner of the Palestine Award for Music and the UNESCO Artist for Peace award, Khalife first created a group in his village in the 1970s to revive Lebanese music and Arab choral singing during the Lebanese civil war. He combines traditional Arab music with western elements such as piano, and recently has concentrated in instrumental works. His music has been controversial in the Arab world - it was banned in Tunisia in 2005 possibly due to his support of imprisoned Arabs in Israel and Arab countries and his support of Tunisian activists. He also faced criminal prosecution in Lebanon for a song using lyrics that quoted the Qu'ran. While Khalife was found innocent of blasphemy, senior Sunni Muslim clerics still maintain that he is guilty. This song, Promises of the Storm, is from his 1997 album of the same name.

Oud Dog, New Tricks: DuOud and "Nude for Death"

The great master oud player Rahim AlHaj once told us (Megan and me) about the relationship he developed with his oud. To him, the oud was like a living person, like a friend or parent or even a lover. When he first got one, he couldn't be separated from it and even slept with it. That to me encapsulates the kind of passion that the oud inspires in its players and adherents. As I've gotten to know some of the music and history of the oud, it seems to me that it is analogous to western classical guitar. I've heard a lot of oud in Arabic classical music, and it always came across to me as a stately, refined instrument. Then comes DuOud, which incorporates the oud into modern music, and yet does not diminish the elegance of the oud at all.

Now that might seem strange given today's song. Nude for Death is by the Paris-based DuOud. DuOud is made up of Algerian Mehdi Haddad and Tunisian Jean-Pierre "Smadj" Smadja, who specialize in Arabic fusion and a desire to reinvent the image of the oud, one of the traditional instruments of Arabic music. What DuOud do is mix oud with all kinds of stuff - jazz saxophone, guitar, samples, beats, and even African vocals. And yet still, at the base of it all, sits the majestic oud. Nude for Death appears on their 2009 CD http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/mar/19/worldmusic. (Not sure why on this video, but even though the video is over 7 minutes long, the song ends at about 4:50 in and then it's just silent)

Marco? Polo!: Loreena McKennitt and "Beneath a Phrygian Sky"

One of the most impressive men I've ever met was a diminutive 90-something-year-old journalist named Gary MacEoin. An Irishman with still more than a hint of his accent, he was a towering figure in social justice reporting, particularly in Latin America, and in covering the Catholic Church during Vatican II. He spoke a number of languages, was extensively traveled, and in his 90s he still had his wit, his intellect and a dry sense of humor. I remember that he was preparing, even in his 90s, of traveling to Samarkand. "Do you know where that is?" he asked me. I replied that I thought Samarkand was in Uzbekistan. I asked him why he wanted to go there. He replied that as a young boy, he read about Marco Polo's travels upon the Silk Road. Something about Polo's description of Samarkand fascinated him, and he put that city on his bucket list. Unfortunately, Gary took a fall while visiting family and a couple of weeks later, while recuperating, suffered cardiac arrest and died before he was able to realize his dream.

That story comes back to me now because our artist for today, Loreena McKennitt, also is fascinated by the Silk Road and especially the culture and music that traveled there. McKennitt, a Canadian known for her soprano voice, is a composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. She released her first album in 1985, and since then has gone on to release nine studio albums and five live albums which have sold 14 million copies worldwide. Her songs have also been featured in television and movies. Beneath a Phrygian Sky is from her 2006 album An Ancient Muse, in which she explores Celtic and Arabic musical elements as she imagines a journey along the Silk Road. In fact, I relate to this song now because in her notes about the song, she mentions visiting Ephesus in Turkey, a biblical city (Paul's letters to the Ephesians), and one whose stately ruins I have also walked. She relates of being swept away, and wondering what the stones could tell her about commerce and culture past. She also wonders if we will ever learn from our history, and quotes Edmund Burke: All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." And I'm brought back to my late friend Gary MacEoin, a good man who did a lot, and was still planning things to do up until the day he died.

Renegade Violin: Nigel Kennedy with Kroke and "Kukush"

My day escaped from me today so I won't be able to give you a thoughtful essay related to today's artist and song. However, perhaps I will get a chance to explore the idea of being a renegade and rebel in the near future on another post. In the meantime, please enjoy today's tune, Kukush by Nigel Kennedy and Kroke.

Nigel Kennedy is a British violinist and violist who started in the classical tradition and later took up jazz, klezmer and other genres. As a child musical prodigy, he was invited to play with Stéphane Grapelli in a concert at age 16. He later played with classical luminaries Fritz Kreisler, Jascha Heifetz and Arthur Rubenstein. He recorded classical music based on rock songs by Jimi Hendrix and The Doors, and in the early 2000s began exploring klezmer music with the Polish band Kroke. He is often criticized for his approach to classical music and for what some see as an abrasive personality.

He plays this song with Kroke, a Polish band founded in 1992 that started as a klezmer band with strong Balkan influences and which currently draws on a variety of ethnic music and sounds of the Orient. Their music has brought them to the attention of people like Steven Spielberg, Peter Gabriel and Nigel Kennedy, with whom they wrote and recorded this song, Kukush, for their collaborative album East Meets West (released 2003), which consists of traditional material and original compositions drawing from Central and Eastern European traditions and Arabic influences.

Kukush showcases Kennedy's electric violin playing. Take a listen and feel like a renegade or rebel yourself!