Summary
There's not another man like Ilham al-Madfai, the "Beatle of Baghdad," in the entire Arab world. From his penthouse home in Amman, the Iraqi musician known for his blending of traditional folkloric music with Latin and Spanish beats and rhythms, radiates a profound sense of wisdom. His gentle humility is surprising for a man who pioneered the crossover between Arabic and World music and has sold out venues regionally and internationally - from London to Qatar to Germany.
"(My) initial influences came from the U.S., but the new waves from England started to influence me - the Shadows, Cliff Richards, Elvis Presley, and Frank Lane," Mr. Madfai says. "And then the Beatles came along."See the full content of this document
Extract
'Beatle of Baghdad' Breaks New Ground
Mr. Madfai speaks in a soft voice, tracing his musical interests to his childhood in Baghdad. The piano and the oud (a Middle Eastern lute) caught his fancy, he explains, and by age 12 he and some friends began visitin...
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