Land of Kush vs. Against the Day

[Dave Monroe]

Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival 2008
Published: August 9, 2008
By Mathieu Belanger

Suoni Per Il Popolo 2008
Festival of Avant Garde and Experimental Liberation Music
Montreal, Quebec
June 1-30, 2008

The 2007 edition of the Suoni Per Il Popolo had marked a transition in
its development in that it showed consistency and maturity. It
therefore created great expectations for this year's edition of the
month-long festival. Now that the last notes have been played, there
is no doubt that the Suoni Per Il Popolo met those expectations.

The 2008 edition distinguished itself with an ambitious series
dedicated to large ensembles. The highlight without a doubt was Sam
Shalabi's Land of Kush, a 30-piece band modeled after the Egyptian
orchestras of the Nasser era, featuring strings, winds, guitars,
electronics, percussion as well as four different vocalists and the
leader's oud. The concert consisted of a 60-minute composition
entitled Against the Day, inspired by Thomas Pynchon's epic novel.
While remaining faithful to his twisted take on Egyptian and
experimental music, Against the Day turned out to be Shalabi's
best-crafted composition for the large ensemble format and,
incidentally, his most accessible music....

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=30200

Suoni Per Il Popolo 2008

http://www.casadelpopolo.com/suoni/about.htm