Category Archives: Middle Eastern music

The Exciting Sounds of the Mal Barsamian Band

Posted on 12/03/2019 by aratopouzian

Traditional Armenian village music has traveled hundreds of years and has faced major hurdles in order to survive and tell an important story about the Armenian people. So much has been lost due to the horrors of the Armenian Genocide, … Continue reading →

Posted in Album Review, Armenian, Middle Eastern music, music | 4 Comments

The Sarkissian Brothers: Mike & Buddy

Posted on 08/12/2019 by aratopouzian

Recently on Facebook, someone posted the asked the question to readers to mention the name of a Middle Eastern musician ‘gone but not forgotten’. As Facebook inquiries go, this was actually interesting to see all the names generated in this … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenian, belly dance, Middle Eastern music, music | 2 Comments

A Musical Refuge for Ronnie Malley

Posted on 07/12/2019 by aratopouzian

In September, 2018, I had an opportunity to attend ArtsMidwest in Indianapolis. This was a large conference that featured different arts organizations, councils and artists from around the Midwest. As I was scanning the big expo hall filled with different … Continue reading →

Posted in Business of Music, Middle Eastern music, music | Leave a comment

Harry Bedrossian: Euphoric Oud Ride

Posted on 05/04/2019 by aratopouzian

If you have ever met musician Harry Bedrossian I think one of the first things you would say about him is that he loves life, doesn’t take himself too seriously (as none of us should) and is an excellent musician. One … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenian, art, Middle Eastern music, music, oud | 4 Comments

Karim Bader, Legendary Arab Oudist

Posted on 03/02/2019 by aratopouzian

Abdul Karim Bader, renown Arab oud master has passed away on February 24, 2019 in Farmington Hills, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan. Bader was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1921.  “Abdel Karim” means “servant of the generous,” a reference to … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle Eastern music, oud, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chick: The Blue Collar Musician

Posted on 02/11/2019 by aratopouzian

As I was growing up listening to Armenian music, there were different groups of instrumentalist musicians that I was aware of that played folk music. One of those groups of musicians were oud players. As far as I was concerned, … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenian, belly dance, Middle Eastern music, music, oud, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments