Toronto-based world music act Al Qahwa Ensemble will be presenting its third album, African Routes (released in November 2020) with a livestream performance from Koerner Hall on Friday, April 9, 2021 from 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm.
A new video of the track “Lullaby” will also be coming out on March 26. The ensemble, from varied backgrounds are Egyptian-Canadian Maryem Tollar on vocals, riqq (Arabic tambourine) and qanun (Arabic table harp); Canadian Ernie Tollar on wind instruments; Greek-Canadian Demetri Petsalakis on ud (Arabic fretless lute), and Iranian-Canadian Naghmeh Fahrahmand on Middle Eastern percussion.
Special guests include Waleed Abdulhamid, Fethi Nadjem and Roula Said. The event will also showcase Maryem’s other ensemble Turkwaz, which includes members Jayne Brown, Sophia Grigoriadis, and Brenna Maccrimmon, who will do a short set of music and will join Al Qahwa and their guests for a few songs.
Al Qahwa Ensemble performs original compositions, instrumental improvisations, as well as popular traditional Arabic material. The ensemble released The Coffee House in 2016, followed by Cairo Moon.
For more information visit their website
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central