Midwest Mahjar: The Recorded Sounds of the Arabic-Speaking Diaspora in the United States at 78 RPM

  Mike Hamway: Syrian American Derbakist Extraodinaire  Mike Hamway, Derbake Player. Courtesy of Richard M. Breaux collection. Usually in Arabic music ensembles, a lead singer, oudist, or violinist gets the majority of attention or have the opportunity to showcase their talents in an oud or violin taqsim. Derbake (dirbakeh, darbuka) players or drum players hardly ever warrant attention, but this month’s post changes all that. One of the most sought after, East Coast derbake players of the middle period was older than many of the other musicians with whom he performed. This fact also helps us understand his passing in the 1960s as the nightclub era was in its infancy. This derbake player is best known for performing with Anton Abdelahad , Joe Budway , Philip Solomon , and Russell Bunai . We’re talking about, of course – Mike Hamway. Mike Hamway was born Michayel Hamway 7 November 1892 in Aleppo, Syria. It’s unclear how many siblings he had or who taught him to play the derbake...

Anton Abdelahad: Music of the American-born Mahjar circa 1949. Abdelahad's Song Book . Few Arab American musicians enjoyed the productivity and longevity of singer and ‘oud player, Anton “Tony” Abdelahad (1915-1995).  His live and recorded songs became a staple at “mahrajans” and “haflas” from the 1940s to the 1980s. Ramza Bergoot and Assad Abdelahad immigrated to the United States on 4 September 1904 and 1902, respectively. On 25 November 1905, the couple married in Boston, Massachusetts and settled among a group of Lebanese and Syrians around Hudson Street, Harrison, and Tyler in the heart of Boston just blocks from the Chinese immigrant enclave.  The Abdelahad’s had three children: Evelyn in 1908, Anton in 1915, and Charles in 1918. Anton “Tony” Abdelahad was born 25 July in 1915 to Syrian immigrant parents, Assad and Ramza Abdelahad, in Boston, Massachusetts. Tony Abdelahad heard an earlier generation of Arab and Arab American musicians on 78 rpm records h...