The Center for Arabic Culture & Karim Nagi Present:
TARABISTS
TWO HUMOROUS ARAB GUYS WITH INSTRUMENTS
BATTLE FOR ATTENTION & COAX YOU INTO SINGING
Join the chorus, laugh at the soloists, kill the stereotypes.
http://americarab.com/
Featuring:
AMER ZAHR (Palestine via Dearborn) – oud, voice
KARIM NAGI (Egypt via Boston) – percussion, voice
SATURDAY 8 PM SEPTEMBER 26, 2015
YMCA THEATER: 820 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA
Co-Sponsored by the Center For Arabic Culture Boston
TICKETS $16 advance online (or $20 at door)
purchase tickets at www.americarab.com
TARABISTS: Two humorous Arab guys with instruments battle for attention & coax you into singing. Join the chorus, laugh at the soloists, kill the stereotypes. Tarabists features musical friends Amer Zahr and Karim Nagi. The event combines “Tarab” (vocal rapture) and a satirical approach to the topic of identity in the diaspora. This impromptu musical comedy will spawn audience laughter & singing, to the point where the two are painfully indistinguishable. Using the Arabic Oud Lute & the Egyptian Tabla Drum, plus an array of famous & fabricated Arab songs, the Tarabists will attack the social questions of the day, and hijack the discussion.
AMER ZAHR : OUD & VOICE
Amer Zahr is an Arab-American comedian, speaker, and writer. Drawing on his experiences growing up as a child of Palestinian parents, he finds the humor in society, culture, and politics. He has produced and headlined in 3 of his own comedy tours, “1001 Laughs Comedy Tour,” “We’re Not White!” and “In 1948.” He is also the producer of the annual “1001 Laughs Dearborn Comedy Festival” in Dearborn, Michigan at the Arab American National Museum. Amer recently completed production on his first documentary film, “We’re Not White,” a comedic and informative approach to the Arab-American struggle to get a box on the United States Census Form.He is also the author of the well-read blog “The Civil Arab,” as well as his first book, “Being Palestinian Makes Me Smile,” a collection of his writings relating to being Palestinian. Amer holds an MA in Middle East Studies and a JD (law degree), both from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He writes and speaks widely on political and social affairs, and has appeared on radio and television, including ABC’s “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher.” Some of his writings have been featured in major publications, including Time magazine.
KARIM NAGI : PERCUSSION & VOICE
Karim Nagi is a native Egyptian musician, folk dancer, speaker, and a former faculty member at the New England Conservatory of Music. In addition to performing his education show Arabiqa over the past 13 years in hundreds of schools across the USA, Mr. Nagi is also an international recording artist who has released 12 CDs and 5 DVDs. He has performed in notable places including Tainan University in Taiwan; Republic Theater in Guongzou, China; Theatre de la Ville in Paris; Brooklyn Art Museum; El-Sawi Concert Hall in Cairo; Royce Hall in UCLA; Smithsonian Freer Sackler Gallery in DC; National Theater in Verazdin, Croatia; Jesuit College in Cairo; and the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn Michigan. He is the director of both the Arab Dance Seminar and the Sharq Ensemble. In addition to his expertise in traditional music and folk dance, Mr Nagi is a contemporary artist creating electronic music, multi media, and performance art. His newest recording is a audio book called “Detour Guide” which reimagines Arab music and rhythm into English, facilitating a story-like alternative tour of Arab culture and diaspora.