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Rahim Alhaj

Rahim AlHaj, virtuoso oud musician and composer, was born in Baghdad, Iraq and began playing the oud (the grandfather of all stringed instruments) at age nine. Early on, it was evident that he had a remarkable talent for playing the oud. Mr. Alhaj studied under the renowned Munir Bashir, considered by many to be the greatest oud player ever, and Salim Abdul Kareem, at the Institute of Music in Baghdad, Iraq. Mr. AlHaj won various awards at the Conservatory and graduated in 1990 with a diploma in composition. He holds a degree in Arabic Literature from Mustunsariya University in Baghdad. In 1991, after the first Gulf War, Mr. AlHaj was forced to leave Iraq due to his activism against the Saddam Hussein regime and began his life in Jordan and Syria. He moved to the US in 2000 as a political refugee and has resided in Albuquerque, NM ever since.

Rahim AlHaj has performed hundreds of concerts all over the world, on tour with Munir Bashir, as well as solo and with his string quartet, including in the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Rahim's music delicately combines traditional Iraqi maqams with contemporary styling and influence. His compositions evoke the experience of exile from his homeland and of new beginnings in his adopted country. His pieces establish new concepts without altering the foundation of the traditional "Iraqi School of Oud”.

Mr. AlHaj has released five CDs. His latest, Home Again (UR Music), is a tour de force of touching and evocative original compositions portraying his trip to Iraq after 13 years in exile. When the Soul is Settled: Music of Iraq (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings) garnered a 2008 Grammy nomination in the Best Traditional World Music Recording category. Don Heckman, reviewing the CD for the Los Angeles Times, wrote: "Alhaj's spontaneous inventions are constantly fascinating--a convincing affirmation of the rich culture of an embattled area of the world." (January 7, 2007). His earlier recordings include Friendship: Oud and Sadaqa String Quartet (UR Music 2005), a unique East and West musical collaboration, The Second Baghdad (2002) and Iraqi Music in a Time of War (2003). Rahim's next release, a duet recording with sarod master Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, will be released in late 2008/early 2009 on UR Music.

Rahim won the Albuquerque Arts Alliance Bravo Award 2003 for Excellence in Music and was dubbed: "The Prophet with an Oud" by a music reviewer at the College of William and Mary.

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Album Review

Rahim Alhaj: Little Earth

Read "Little Earth" reviewed by Chris May


With six albums under his belt since he arrived in the US in 2000--two of them, Friendship (Fast Horse, 2006) and When The Soul Is Settled (Smithsonian Folkways, 2007), Grammy nominees--Iraqi oudist Rahim Alhaj is settling into his new homeland with aplomb. Four of the discs have been virtuoso expositions of traditional Iraqi music. But on two more, Alhaj has engaged with other cultures: Friendship was made with a classical string quartet, and Ancient Sounds (UR, 2009) with Indian sarod ...

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Music and the Creative Spirit

Rahim Alhaj: Iraqi Music in a Time of War

Read "Rahim Alhaj: Iraqi Music in a Time of War" reviewed by Lloyd N. Peterson Jr.


For a period of five centuries (750 - 1253), Baghdad was the music capital of the world. A music of elaborate ornamentations and modal rhythms that were rich, poetic and culturally beautiful. A music derived from the depths of ancient philosophies. There is even a belief that this is where melody was born, but now it lies in ruins with its culture and future in question.From out of that culture is one of Iraq's greatest oud masters and ...

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Recording

Rahim AlHaj & the Little Earth Orchestra Find a Global Voice for Peace

Rahim AlHaj & the Little Earth Orchestra Find a Global Voice for Peace

Source: rock paper scissors, inc.

Asylum in New Mexican Maqam: Rahim AlHaj and the Little Earth Orchestra Find a Global Voice for Peace Via Iraqi Sounds

In the dry mountains of New Mexico, an Iraqi oud (lute) master raises homing pigeons. Persecuted for a single potent song, he fled his native land, only to be deprived of his beloved instruments at the border. Yet like the birds he cares for, he has homed in a new nest, where quarter tones can be urged from accordions, ...

"I feel lucky to have heard Rahim Alhaj. His music is beautiful, mysterious, and powerful. I've never heard anything like it. He has his own voice--his own sound. As the world becomes more and more complicated, confusing, and frightening, there is one thing I am certain of--Music is good. Music can bring people together. Music has power. Music heals. What Rahim is doing is important. I hope many people will have the chance to hear his new album, Home Again, made up of his own very personal compositions. Listen. He's an inspiration." --Bill Frisell

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