Ali Hassan Kuban - Nubian jazz

When he was a child, Ali Hassan Kuban used to sing in the boats that sailed over the Nile river.

Born in Nubia, a town in the south of Egypt, Hassan Kuban used a vocal style popular in that region, which years later would turn into really catchy melodies that mix the magic of the ancient Egypt with some wind instruments such as clarinet and bagpipes. 

He had a revelation when he listened to a band from Harlem in a nightclub in Egypt. That performance inspired him to create these captivating rythms that nowadays sound like oldie songs from the funk and jazz scene of the seventies, but sung in arabic language. For this style he would be called 'The Godfather' of Nubian music. 

Mabruk

Habibi