From The Derbecki Trio to the Derbecki Ensemble: The Group at the Heart of Cleveland’s Arabic Music Scene
From The Derbecki Trio to the Derbecki Ensemble: The Group at the Heart of Cleveland’s Arabic Music Scene The Derbecki Trio (Eddie Hakal, Eddie Shaheen, and Labbie George) with Laurice Peters. Hafla: Echoes of the Middle East album. Courtesy of Richard M. Breaux collection. Just over four years ago, back in 2021, we featured the singing of Cleveland’s Laurice Peters . Peters had recently passed away and we explored her music career beginning with her joining the Derbecki Trio in 1957. Over the years, however, between 1949 and 1980, the trio had two core members - Eddie Shaheen and Labbie George - and a host of accompanying singers and oudist who rounded out the band making it the Derbecki Ensemble . The only other musician, although not an original member, to remain with the Derbecki Ensemble for its entire recording career was Edward Hakal . We’ve back tracked to tell the story of the core members and those who came and went as time passed and other opportunities presented themselves....