Mr. Richard S Khuzami, both in his role as musician and producer, has worked to produce and promote the finest in artistic achievement in World Music, with a special emphasis on the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Mr. Khuzami, of Lebanese extraction, is an accomplished percussionist, specializing in instruments from the Balkans, Anatolia, Middle East, and North Africa. Also, with the establishment of Dahdoo Productions, Inc., he has been able to present to the American Public concerts and recordings of the great Artists these regions offer.
Credits include assisting in the production of the opening music for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta with Mickey Hart and Philip Glass (arranging the participation of Lebanese Vocalist Nagy Yousef), assisting in the production of Philip Glass's “Powaqqatsi” concert in Prospect Park, Brooklyn (arranging the performance of the Islamic Call to Prayer), musical director for Lincoln Center Institute's Production of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, musical director for Blunt Productions performance of Romeo and Juliet (Set in current day Baghdad) and composing and performing music for the Dance Theatre of Harlem's Choreographers Workshop . He is also a featured performer at NYC's Town Hall (Turkish Gypsy Magic), and the Baruch Performance Center (Marrakech: The Golden Circle) with the Anahid Sofian Dance Ensemble. Richard has performed/produced in many Greek, Turkish, Arabic, and Jewish venues and concerts, both in the USA and abroad (Spain, Israel, Greece, Columbia, Venezuela, Canada, the Caribbean, and Lebanon.) His collaborations have included the Jazz For Peace series featuring Rick DellaRatta, performing at the United Nations and Jazz on the Park in NYC.“ The Richard Khuzami Ensemble ” has included at various times such accomplished performers as Omar Faruk Tekbilek (Turkish), Maurice Chedid (Lebanese), and Vangelis Fampas ( Greece ). He has also performed with renowned artists Yousef Kassab (Syria), Aris San (Israeli), and Christodolopoulos, Antepas, and Ross Daly (Greece) and Manolito (France), former Gypsy Kings members. He also accompanied Yuri Yanakov with his Gypsy Magic Ensemble featuring Omar Faruk Tekbilek in the Streets of NYC festival in Berlin. Mr. Khuzami has recently promoted the highly successful United States tour of Eleftheria Arvanitaki , one of the most accomplished and popular female singers from Greece. He promoted and performed in the recent concert “Songs of the Arab World” in NYC. Richard is also a member of The Joe Elias Ladino Ensemble , whose purpose has been the performing and preservation of the music of the Spanish and Middle Eastern Jewish community. He also is a member of The Spinozas, featuring Dave Soldier. (Andulucian music of the 14th century in Arabic, Hebrew, and Romance languages). Other members include Paul Frazier, bass player with David Byrne.Media interviews and performance on World Music include the BBC/NPR Co-production “The World” (in reference to Greek Artists' Savina Yannatou and Eleftheria Arvanitaki Broadcast nationally on public radio, Telemundo, The Food Network, and FX (Fox). He was also the subject of a documentary produced by NHK Japan, for broadcast in Japan called: Monday Is Arabic Night, part of a series: New York Streets. . Richard also handled the physical distribution of recordings for HMV, FNAC, Koch, Shanachie, and other independent record labels, retailers and one-stops. He handled logistics for “The New Music Seminar” in NYC, and MIDEM in Cannes, France. As a member of New York City Community Board 1 in Astoria, Queens, he is on the Parks and Cultural Committee, amongst others. Mr. Khuzami is also a member of the Queens General Assembly, the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce and the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce. He is also appointed a panel member of the Queens Council on the Arts.
Richard has produced an instructional cd on Middle Eastern and Greek rhythms, “Rhythms of the Middle East ”, accompanied by a workbook. Mr. Khuzami is currently creating a CD of Mid Eastern fusion, due for release in 2005. He is on the faculty of Djoniba Drum and Dance Center, NYC NY, and currently has regular performances at such NYC venues as Satalla, Le Souk, Sirocco, Casbah Rouge, and Maia Meyhane, amongst others. Most recently, Richard has recorded with the fine Cuban ensemble Yerba Buena on their 2005 release. His production company “Dahdoo”, now includes Alpha-Omega’s Grammy winning producer Rameses to bring a more youthful, commercial sound to reach a new audience.
