Al Mulla Dheif Al Jabbouri
Ala Hsab Ahl Al Hawa (On the Account of the People of Love)
SIDE A
SIDE B
Label
Al Faiha'a
Sallama
Location Issued
Aleppo, Syria
Artist Origin
Ouwaijeilah, Salah Ad Deen, Iraq
More Info
This cassette brings us a 1970s performance by the iconic Iraqi singer and rababa player Al Mulla Dheif Al Jabbouri, who remains today, even after his passing, one of the first names that comes to mind for listeners in Iraq and the Levant when discussing rababa music. According to one account, former Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan Al Bakr would frequently cancel an hour of Baghdad Radio programming, including news bulletins, and request broadcasting Al Mulla Dheif Al Jabbouri's recordings instead. When radio staff complained to the then-rising politician Saddam Hussein, he promised to resolve the issue and began sending a helicopter almost daily to transport Al Mulla Dheif from his home in Kirkuk to Baghdad to sing and play in Ahmed Hassan Al Bakr's personal presence. When listening to this tape, one can easily understand Al Bakr's obsession with Al Jabbouri.