I just recorded this album — Lucas found it at an antique store — and was going to put it up for download but I found out that someone else already did it.
UPDATE: I downloaded this file and put it on my site here.
Why should you care? It’s one of the very few early 60s Exotica records that’s really good. Let’s leave aside for now how offensive to some Muslims calling your night club combo “His Mecca Four.” These guys play the living shit out of this music, which sounds very much like Egyptian or Turkish popular music of the early 60s, except it’s all instrumental. And for all its ‘authenticity’ — I’m no musicologist after all — it’s mostly original compositions.
And for the samplers amongst you there are some smoking Durbeck breaks.
Top it off with the cover (mind you NONE of the people in this group are Arab) of a guy on a camel. This came out right after Lawrence of Arabia, and no doubt sought to capitalize on that movie’s popularity.
No relationship whatsoever to the music on the album
This album was recorded by Armenian Americans and one Greek American, Manny Petro, who happens to be my uncle. I grew up listening to this music. They were not trying to copy Lawrence of Arabia at all, just living the culture they grew up with. I can’t speak for the album cover, I was too young at the time. but this music was a large part of our lives. Thank so much for good memories. Here is a bit of background info:
Leader, Buddy Sarkissian, born in Lowell, Mass. has been called the king of Near Eastern drummers. Utilizing an authentic Durbeckee (hand drum) he creates his own unique rhythmic patterns, switching occasionally to bongoes and combo drum for variety.Like Sarkissian, violinist Fred Elias has been a life-long devotee of Near Eastern music. Born in Manchester, New Hampshire, of Lebanese parentage, he is a graduate of the Boston
Conservatory of Music and is generally acknowledged as the finest violinist in his field. His unerring command of complex Near Eastern scales, which he blends skillfully with standard Western progressions, has earned him honors from many quarters, not the least of which was a recent command performance for King Saud of Saudi Arabia.Rhythmic background for the group is supplied by Manny Petro, a Peabody, Massachusetts,
native of Greek ancestry. His unique style, developed over a period of years, makes use of a technique called doubling, enabling his one guitar to sound like two.
…
Rounding out the group’s distinctive sound is Armenian-American Paul Mooradian, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts. One of the few true masters of the tambourine in America, his accented syncopations and dynamic expressions make themselves felt on every number.The sheer skill and exuberance of the players, coupled with their modern conceptions and interpretations will provide a true listening thrill.
Performers:
Buddy Sarkissian – durbeckee (hand drum)
Fred Elias – violin
Manny Petro – guitar
Paul Mooradian – tambourine
Lisa and Ahmad [no last names given] – finger cymbals (zils)