A Sign of Peace: Rahim AlHaj and Amjad Ali Khan with "Release of the Dove"

Today's random tune, Release of the Dove, is by Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan. Rahim Alhaj is an Iraqi-American oud player and composer living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He began playing the oud at age nine and soon revealed a great talent for the instrument. A political activist against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, he was forced into political exile, first in Syria and Jordan and finally in the United States. He combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary stylings and influences. Amjad Ali Khan is an Indian classical musician who plays the sarod, an instrument that his family claims to have invented - he is the sixth generation of his family to be a musician. He is a recipient of India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan. Release of the Dove can be found on their 2009 collaboration Ancient Sounds.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahim_AlHaj; http://www.sarod.com/

Celebrate Good Times: Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan with "Celebrations"

Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan perform our random tune for today. Rahim Alhaj is an Iraqi-American oud player and composer living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He began playing the oud at age nine and soon revealed a great talent for the instrument. A political activist against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, he was forced into political exile, first in Syria and Jordan and finally in the United States. He combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary stylings and influences. Amjad Ali Khan is an Indian classical musician who plays the sarod, an instrument that his family claims to have invented - he is the sixth generation of his family to be a musician. He is a recipient of India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan. This song, Celebrations, can be found on their 2009 collaboration Ancient Sounds.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Take Wing: Rahim Alhaj and "Fly Away"

Iraqi musician Rahim AlHaj, who originally came to Albuquerque as a refugee, brings us the random tune for today. Rahim Alhaj is an oud player and composer. He began playing the oud at age nine and soon revealed a great talent for the instrument. A political activist against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, he was forced into political exile, first in Syria and Jordan and finally in the United States. Resettled in Albuquerque, he was told to report to a job. As an oud master, he assumed that he would be teaching music, and asked where the job was. "McDonalds," he was told. We think he was better off staying with his first love, music. He combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary stylings and influences. This song, Fly Away, can be found on his 2013 album Journey.

The Right Stuff: Rahim AlHaj and "Maqam Rast"

Albuquerque's immigrant son, Rahim AlHaj, brings us the random tune for today. Rahim Alhaj is an Iraqi-American oud player and composer living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He began playing the oud at age nine and soon revealed a great talent for the instrument. A political activist against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, he was forced into political exile, first in Syria and Jordan and finally in the United States. Resettled in Albuquerque, he was told to report to a job. As an oud master, he assumed that he would be teaching music, and asked where the job was. "McDonalds," he was told. We think he was better off staying with his first love, music. He combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary stylings and influences. This song, Maqam Rast, can be found on his 2013 album Journey.

Peace: Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan with "Release of the Dove"

Today's random tune, Release of the Dove, is by Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan. Rahim Alhaj is an Iraqi-American oud player and composer living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He began playing the oud at age nine and soon revealed a great talent for the instrument. A political activist against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, he was forced into political exile, first in Syria and Jordan and finally in the United States. He combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary stylings and influences. Amjad Ali Khan is an Indian classical musician who plays the sarod, an instrument that his family claims to have invented - he is the sixth generation of his family to be a musician. He is a recipient of India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan. Release of the Dove can be found on their 2009 collaboration Ancient Sounds.

Where Are We Going?: Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan with "Common Destination"

Today's random tune, Common Destination, is by Rahim Alhaj and Amjad Ali Khan. Rahim Alhaj is an Iraqi-American oud player and composer living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He began playing the oud at age nine and soon revealed a great talent for the instrument. A political activist against the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, he was forced into political exile, first in Syria and Jordan and then in the United States. He combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary stylings and influences. Amjad Ali Khan is an Indian classical musician who plays the sarod, an instrument that his family claims to have invented - he is the sixth generation of his family to be a musician. He is a recipient of India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan. Common Destination can be found on their 2009 collaboration Ancient Sounds.

Globalquerque Video 7: Rahim AlHaj and Liu Fang

Today's Globalquerque video is of Albuqerque's own oud master Rahim AlHaj and Chinese pipa master Liu Fang performing in the Fountain Courtyard at the National Hispanic Cultural Center during Globalquerque 2014 on September 20th in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Liu Fang was born in China and currently lives in Montreal. She is described as the "empress of pipa" and is considered one of the foremost players of the pipa and the guzheng. She plays both traditional Chinese songs as well as classical Chinese music and modern compositions from the East and West. Rahim AlHaj was born in Iraq and emigrated to Albuquerque as a political refugee. He has been playing the oud since the age of 9 and studied in Iraq under the greatest masters of the oud. His political activism against the Saddam Hussein regime forced him to leave Iraq in 1991, and he lived in Jordan and Syria before coming to the US. He detailed in the concert how he wrote songs for oud and pipa and found Liu Fang to play them - and this song is one of those that he wrote.

I shot this on my Samsung Galaxy and because I was using zoom the video is a little grainy. There is also a bit of background sound from cicadas, which Rahim Alhaj notes before they play.