MUSIC IS A BRIDGE OF PEACE

To place Ray's comment in proper context, it helps to know a little something about the guy. Ray's dad, Albert Rashid was a Christian Arab from Lebanon who came here to study at the University of Detriot. After graduating in 1934, he began what would grow into the family business: importing and distributing Arabic-language musical films and recordings.

In 1947, Rashid Music relocated to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn-- the cultural and culinary hub of NYC's large Syrian and Lebanese immigrant communities from the 1940s on to the present. At that time, Christian Arabs were the predominate group, with Syrian Jews coming in a close second. Muslim Arabs-- now the majority of the more recent immigrants from the Middle East-- were well-represented, though something of a minority in those days.

Ray described for me what it was like growing up in this milieu: "Back then, everyone got along great. We all spoke the same language, liked the same kinds of foods, enjoyed the same music, and laughed and cried together as we shared memories. The only difference was on Friday, the Muslims went to mosque; on Saturday, the Jews went to synagogue; and on Sunday, the Christians went to church."

In the early '70s, Ray became a professional drummer, specializing in the darabukka (also dumbek [Iran/Turkey], dumbeki [Greece], tabla [Egypt, Jordan], etc.), the goblet-shaped hand drum popular throughout the Middle East, Near East, and North Africa. Ironically enough, his dad opposed his youngest son's choice of vocations. Albert wanted Ray to follow the example set by his big brother Stanley and join the family business selling records... not playing on them.

It was the late great Hakki Obadia who gave Ray his first gig and eventually convinced Albert to let his boy follow his heart. Hakki was an Iraqi Jewish master violinist and oud player who was in great demand for family celebrations and communal functions in all the various Middle Eastern communities throughout the Tri-State Area. As a child growing up in Baghdad, Hakki had studied both Western classical music-- he founded and conducted that city's first symphony orchestra while he was still in teens-- as well as Arabic classical and traditional folk music. In the 1950s, Hakki gained a bit of fame when he hooked up with the popular Lebanese-American entertainer, drummer Eddie "The Shiek" Kochak. At the time, belly dance music was just beginning to take it place beside calyspo and Cuban "cha-cha" in the "exotic" spicerack section of the mainstream pop market.

Throughout the '50s and '60s, belly dance-themed night clubs sprang up everywhere-- especially up and down 8th Avenue in Manhattan-- providing lots of work not only for Christian and Muslim Arab and Mizrachi Jewish musicians but also for Greek, Turkish, and Armenian musicians as well. Likewise, there were plenty of gigs to be had playing weddings and parties.

On the band stand, no one gave a damn about your ethnicity, religion, or political convictions. For your fellow musicians and your listeners, the only issue was how well you played. Case in point: Ray's first gig with Hakki was a Syrian Jewish family get-together. His bandmates were a mix of Jews, Christians, and Muslims from all over the Middle East.

Ray concluded his reminiscing with this thought: "You know something, music is a bridge of peace."

Enuf said....

Salaam, shalom, peace y'all,

Uncle Shlomo