El Gusto Orchestra, El Gusto; Quidam Productions/ Remark Music (2011)
ALL TRACKS FCC CLEAN Reviewed by Abu Ramses

In 2003 Irish-Algerian Safinez Bousbia visited Algeria for the first time. In a mirror shop in old Algiers 83-year-old Mr. Ferkioui told her his story as a musician of the Cha`abi (popular) genre - music Muslims & Jews who lived in the casbah, sang & played together at cafes, bars, weddings & other occasions in the first half of the 20th century. Cha`abi fuses Andalusian, sufi, & French & Latin pop. Vocals accompanied by piano, accordion, various guitars, violin, oud, kanun, nay & percussion. When the National Liberation Front (FLN) began Algeria’s War of independence in 1954 it banned cha`abi music and ordered that bars be closed. Jewish musicians fled to France. Muslims remained in Algeria but stopped playing and the music all but disappeared. Bousbia reunited Chaabi musicians scattered in Algeria & France who had not seen each other for 50 years. In 2 years she assembled a 42-piece band - “El Gusto” (’the thrill’) - & organized concerts in Marseille, Paris-Bercy, London’s Barbican, & Berlin. Her documentary film of the whole effort, “El Gusto,” premiered in Paris in January 2012. This CD presents concert versions of the songs. All gems with an upbeat big band sound. Sorry, my colloquial Algerian Arabic isn’t sufficient to translate all titles.

My faves: 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, 12
Tracks
1. Chihlet L'Ayani (Balm for my eyes) – Heard in the background of an early scene of Gillo Pontecorvo’s classic film, “Battle of Algiers” - (3:02)
2. Sobhan Allah Ya Latif (Praise God sweetie) – Big band sound -(7:32)
3. Bnat El Youm (Girls of the day) – Slow solo vocal, then ensemble (4:24)
4. Kidjet El Youm – Upbeat big band vocal - (3:52)
5. El Haraz – Big band/piano hide & seek style intro; solo then ensemble vocal - (7:37)
6. Haratoum Bik Nouassi –Mandolin solo intro, then big band - (3:18)
7. Je Suis Pied Noir/El Hmam/Hab Yelaab Sport – “I am a settler” – an ironic song by Jews who had come to Algeria hundreds of years before the 1830 French conquest but were called “dirty settlers” when they arrived in France after Algerian independence in 1962 - (8:22)
8. Min Yaati Kalbou Lil Melah (3:11)
9. El Djazair Ya Hbibti (Algiers, my love) - Oud solo & vocal solo - (4:01)
10. Al Assima (The Capitol) - (4:30)
11. El Gusto – Big piano intro, mid-tempo, then upbeat vocal with ensemble - (8:58)
12. Ya Rayih wayne misafer (Where are you going, emigrant?) – You’ll always come home. Big percussion. Rachid Taha covers this classic - (3:16)
13. Duo Rabim/Imam – duet by a rabbi and a Muslim muezzin - (7:08)