A Night With HALIM

Arts Canteen & Grand Junction are proudly commemorates #Egypt’s legendary vocalist Abdel Halim Hafez with a performance by the HarfousH Jazz Band led by Egyptian vocalist Ahmed Harfoush.

The concert will feature songs from the Egyptian icon’s film and studio recordings from the 1950s and 60s in a new jazz and latino sound as part of Harfoush’s music project titled “The Egyptian Jazz Projekt”.

Abdel Halim Hafez, who was also known as Al-Andaleeb Al-Asmar (The Black Nightingale), was famous beyond the Egyptian arts scene. Dubbed the "King of Arabic Music," "The Voice of the People," "The Son of the Revolution," and "King of Emotions and Feelings," his songs were masterpieces of collaborative efforts by some of the Arab world's best poets and composers.

In his lifetime, Abdul Halim Hafez recorded more than 300 songs, produced many of them himself as he was the co-founder of the famous Egyptian recording company Soutelphan which operates as a subsidiary of EMI Arabia today.

Abdul Halim’s fame echoed beyond Egypt as he held concerts in almost every Arab country and occasionally sang in Europe, including on the stage of the Royal Albert Hall, where Abdul Halim received one of the greatest ovations of his career singing after the Egyptian setback in 1967.

Hafez was born on 21 June, 1929, in a small village called "Halawat, Sharqia" (Egypt) he was graduated from the Academy of Arabic Music in 1948 then he joined the Egyptian radio in 1952.

Hafez acted and sang in some 16 movies. His songs are still hummed by young generations, listened inside cars and played on radios as in parties.

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Ahmed Harfoush

An Egyptian jazz vocalist based in London, regularly appearing at leading venues and events in Europe and the Middle East. He has performed in London, Edinburgh, Cairo, Dubai, Amman, Athens, Paris, Berlin, Slovenia, Cyprus and Melbourne.

Harfoush is the director and lead singer of the Riff Band in Cairo and both the HarfousH Jazz Band and Club Tropicana Band in London. HarfousH received voice training at London’s Mountview Academy for Theatre Arts. He has given concerts with the Macedonia Philharmonic, the Cambridgeshire Youth Orchestra, the West of England Youth Orchestra and the Nile Symphony Orchestra.

His repertoire is extensive, including traditional jazz and swing, the American songbook, musical theatre, Arabic songs and contemporary hits. His latest project is the revival of the 1950s and 1960s Egyptian songs with a new jazz sound known as the Egyptian Jazz Projekt.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Grand Junction, Rowington Close, London, United Kingdom