Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Acoustic Evening

And so here's the post I was writing when the priest walked in on me... We went to an improv concert yesterday, (before all the night escapades): "A Trio (irtijal) / Charbel Haber Solo". It was something new, all improvised music with new ways to utilize the trumpet, double bass and guitar. I might be biased because I love the musicians themselves, Mazen (Mazen Kerbaj) and Charbel (Scrambled Eggs). G. thought it was nice, but it's not music per se because it's not melodic. K. thought it was really nice and avant garde. As for me, it reminded me of Bartok's "microcosmos" so the verdict is in: it's definitely music, it's experimental, it's something to watch.
On another note it seems the improv scene is growing rapidly in Lebanon. I went to a play Mitlna Mitlak about a month ago, which is still showing for a week or two "due to its huge success as the producer put it", nevertheless it's also something to check out, have a different take on things.
On yet another note, K. and I were trying to enumerate the noteworthy underground bands and artists in Lebanon like Soap Kills, Scrambled Eggs, Mashrou3 Leila, Tania Saleh, Rasha Rizk. The list must be longer, something to look into.

--Trio Irtijal


--Mazen Kerbaj
--Charbel Haber