Band Members:
Amir Elsaffar-santoor and trumpet, Arturo Martinez-flamenco guitar, Eric McPherson- drums, Francois Moutin- bass, George Dulin-piano, Johnny Farraj- riq, Tareq Abbushi-buzuk, Zafer Tawil- oud and percussion.
Debut CD Levant Indulgence was recorded at Oustaz Studios
Engineered and Mixed by Adel Hinawi
produced by Adel Hinawi and Amir Elsaffar
Music by Gaida except Almaya, traditional Syrian
Influences
Influences:
My mother, Sabah Fakhri, Damascus breeze, the rain, the birds, Um Kulthum, Fairuz, Najat Al-saghera, Janice Joplin, Sufi music, the call to prayer, the Eid prayers, Hamza Shakoor, the Blues, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, the sounds of strings and the nay, Abdul Halim Hafez, and the people in my life...
Sounds Like
Sounds Like: “The depth of the expression that [Gaida emits] goes so very far. Like an old soul in a young and beautiful form. Hearing [Gaida's] voice makes one reflect and think of all of the experiences lived and the ones that we will live”. Suzana Peric-Film Music Editor
Gaida is a vocalist and composer working at the intersection of the New York Arab and improvised music scenes. Her compositions draw at once on classical Arabic song, Syrian folk traditions, and free improvisations that expand on traditional Arabic maqams (modes) to produce an original and highly personal style marked by great emotional intensity. An acclaimed singer from an early age, Gaida was born in Germany and raised in Damascus. Later she lived in Kuwait, Paris, and Detroit, where she received classical voice training at Wayne State University. Now settled in New York, Gaida works with leading music artists such as Amir ElSaffar, Brahim Fribgane, Tareq Abboushi, Zafer Tawil, and Rufus Cappadocia. Gaida has recorded for major motion pictures, including Jonathan Demme's Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains, in which she recorded with Gillian Welsh and Alejandro Escovedo. She also appeared on Jonathan Demme’s latest film Rachel Getting Married and recorded with Robyn Hitchcock, composed and recorded a song for The Hennegan Brothers' documentary film "The First Saturday in May". Gaida’s debut CD, Levantine Indulgence was recorded in September of 2008 and awaiting to be released. Gaida also maintains a parallel career as a speech pathologist.
"Gaida’s forthcoming CD, Levantine Indulgence, a song sequence of alluring beauty, is steeped in the traditional music of her Syrian heritage, but also shows the eclectic worldview of a New York singer-songwriter"—David R. Adler, Timeout New York
“[Gaida] improvised incantatory lines as an accomplished jazz vocalist might have done… [her] plaintive, gauzy vocals effectively disarmed listeners”
~Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune
"Syrian vocalist Gaida keeps one foot in the Arabic-music tradition, evoking the emotional storminess of legendary figures like Warda and Om Kalthoum. But her filigreed singing—not to mention the broad, if restrained, palette afforded by her expert band ... suggests all manner of exotic new possibilities".
Timeout, New York
thanks so much! you have such a tender, sweet voice that is such a pleasure to listen to. i cant even choose a favorite song because they're all amazing... Hopefully we meet again soon =]
the beauty of your voice & your music is a welcome & much needed rest from the worries created in this world. a gift of hope & transcendance in the journey that so many suffer through.
for that we all thank you and pray that you are blessed with peace.
