Swing Hakim is a Chicago-based ensemble that combines traditional jazz, Delta blues and classical Middle Eastern music. Their music is a truly organic mixture that takes the listener on a musical journey across continents. Swing Hakim's eponymous debut album intersperses original pieces with jazz and blues reimagined through the lens of Middle Eastern maqam. Moving seamlessly between these musical idioms, the group blends Blues with Bayatti and seasons Swing with Samai; Caravan is performed in the maqam hijazkar kurd, St. James Infirmary is reimagined as a mix of oud and slide guitar. Guests on the album include renowned gypsy jazz guitarist Alfonso Ponticelli and violin virtuoso Steve Gibons. If Robert Johnson had joined Benny Goodman, Farid Al-Atrash, and Django Reinhardt on one album, the result might have been something like this.
The core of Swing Hakim is a trio of veteran musicians. Dr. Stephen T. Asma (rhythm and slide guitar) is a Chicago blues man who has performed and toured across the country with many great bluesmen. Dr. Rami Gabriel (Oud, lead guitar) has performed classical Middle Eastern music and gypsy jazz throughout the United States in a variety of groups. Dr. Bryan Pardo (clarinet) is a member of the faculty at Northwestern University and has been a featured jazz and klezmer performer at music festivals and colleges throughout the USA. For more on Swing Hakim, visit their website: www.swinghakim.com
1. Caravan 5:07
2. Wicked Witch of the East 2:28
3. Sheikh Araby 3:05
4. Over the Handlebars 2:05
5. Night in Tunisia 3:50
6. Longa Yorgo 1:22
7. Chai Nahnah 2:17
8. Betrayal Waltz 1:31
9. It's Blue Blue Blue at the Bottom of the Well (Things are Looking Up) 2:16
10. Eric's Day 2:51
11. Tango a Deux 2:56
12. Alohula 4:22
13. Saint James Infirmary