Shurahibeel Ahmed was born in Omdurman in central Sudan in 1935 and arrived to the capital Khartoum at a time when the lyric songs of the Sudanese tambur (lyre) were beginning to find common ground with the Arabic maqaam system of music, as well as the tradition of madeeh praise songs.
The secular and at times irreverent haqiba genre was emerging as an entrancing and distinctly local form of recreational song especially popular at weddings. Shurahibeel was transfixed when he encountered a man from southern Sudan playing a guitar an instrument he had never seen. Shurahibeel went on to specialize in guitar and also to play saxophone, trumpet and trombone.
He fell in love with jazz the songs of Harry Belafonte and Egyptian art music especially Mohamed Abdel-Wahab and all of this went into his unique and groundbreaking style. Shurahibeel recalled the 1950s as a time of exuberance and optimism in Khartoum. Still like Sudanese many greats of his generation he ventured on to Cairo to begin his recording career. But he returned home and during the 1960s and 1970s his performances on Sudanese radio and television helped set a new modern direction for popular music throughout the country.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
