Mosa Kalooky: A Syrian American Kanunist, Hidden in Plain Sight on Maloof Records 

Mosa Kolooky, Caravan, December 1954. Courtesy of Newspapers.com

Here at Midwest Mahjar, we do not just feature the most popular or well-known Arab American musicians of the 78-rpm era, we try to include, highlight, and explore the lives of lesser-known recorded musicians as well. Ensemble musicians are often overlooked, if mentioned at all, yet these often-underappreciated oud, kanun, derbeke, and nay players served as the foundation upon which the likes of Elias Louis Wardiny, Salim Doumani, Anthony Shapini, or Wadeeh Bagdady built the legacies we celebrate. One of the rarely-mentioned and barely-noted musicians who recorded in the ensemble on several Maloof Phonograph records was the kanun player – Mosa Kalooky or Moses Kalouky. 

 

Mosa Kalooky was born either 5 April 1886 or 10 July 1888 in Homs, Syria. He seems to have immigrated to the United States at the age of 22 in 1910 and settled in Paterson, New Jersey. He almost immediately found work as a weaver in one of the silk mills in Paterson, Passaic County, rented a place to live at 56 Clifford Street, and within five years, in 1915, he married Weida Haik, herself a recent arrival from Greater Syria. By some accounts, Weida was somewhere between 10-20 years Mosa’s junior. Approximately three years after their marriage, Weida gave birth to a little girl, Florence.  Mosa labored at Alco Silk Company, Inc. located at 295 Clay Street. At one time, people in the United States knew Paterson, New Jersey as Silk City for the number of silk textile mills that called Paterson home. It remains unclear if Mosa Kalooky had also been a silk weaver in Homs, but as British travel writer Gertrude Bell, recalled in her 1907 book Syria: The Desert and the Sown, “…as we passed through the narrow but remarkably clean streets, I noticed that in almost every house there was a loom, whereon a weaver was weaving the striped silk for which Homs is famous, while down most of the thoroughfares were stretched the silken yarn.” In all likelihood, then, Mosa Kalooky felt somewhat at home amongst Paterson's silk mills.

World War I draft card for Mosa Kalooky. Courtesy of Ancestry.com

As we've noted elsewhere, some 10,000 to 15,000 Syrian immigrants and Syrian Americans served during World War I, future Maloof recording artist Anthony Shaptini was among them. We can’t say for certain when Mosa Kalooky took up the kanun, at which point he met Alexander Maloof, or if he is the kanun player on any of the early Arabic recordings on the Victor label by Louis Wardiny, Constantine Souss, or Nahim Simon; Kalooky may have very well accompanied Souss, Simon, Mohammed Zaineldeen, Zakia Agob, or Rev. George Aziz on Columbia. By the 1920s, when the lateral-cut method of cutting records opened to all record manufacturers, Mosa Kalooky played as an ensemble musician who accompanied Arab immigrant and Arab American vocalists and musicians on Maloof Phonograph Records. A 1921-newspaper report noted that among the entertainers at a cultural exchange event where “American citizens of Paterson will have the opportunity to meet their foreign-born fellow citizens” was “Mosa Kalooky who is making records of native Syrian music on kanoon for the Maloof Talking Machine Company.” The keynote speaker at the event was Al-Rabita Al-Qalamiyya or Pen League member, author, and editorialist Ameen Rihani (1876-1940).

 

Ameen Rihani appeared as keynote speaker and Mosa Kalooky entertained by playing his kanun. Morning Call 12 April 1921. Courtesy of Newspapers.com

Ameen Rihani had long-since emerged as one of the leading figures of the Mahjari arts and letters movement. Born in Freike, Greater Syria (today Lebanon), Rihani first came to the United States around the time Mosa Kalooky had been born. Well-read, a public intellectual, one of the leading Arab voices in the early twentieth-century United States, and an early contributor to publications like Al-Hoda, Al-Fanun, and later the Syrian World, Ameen Rihani wrote what many consider the first Arab-American novel to be written in English – The Book of Khalid (1911). An erudite political philosopher and, according to Project Khalid director and Rihani-scholar Todd Fine, years ahead of his time, not only was Rihani close friends and collaborators with Khalil Gibran, The Book of Khalid provides philosophical foundations for the many possibilities and pitfalls of Middle East/US cultural, intellectual, and political relations. Moreover, Fine argued that more contemporary political protests in Tunisia, Syria, Yemen, and Egypt’s Tahir Square during the late winter and early spring of 2011, might be more clearly understood from reading Rihani's political philosophy. At the event in Paterson where Mosa Kalooky performed, locals celebrated Rihani’s Arabic and English writings to date. This event further highlights the underexplored connections between the Mahjari literary movement and Arab American visual and performing arts in the 1910s and 1920s.

 

We don’t know, nor will we probably ever know, the number of recordings on which Kalooky appeared. Ensemble members often went uncredited in the 78-rpm era as labels did not provide much space for credits and liner notes. With certainty we know he can be heard on Maloof #5008 AB and Maloof #5009 AB. On the latter, Kalooky plays the kanun and accompanies Louis Wardiny on vocals and as a part of the chorus.

Louis Wardiny & Mosa Kalooky, Maloof #5009AB, "Visit Me Once a Year." Courtesy of Richard M. Breaux Collection.

https://youtu.be/Zbw7BGSOPZY

In addition to attending public and recorded performances in the 1920s, the Kalookys witnessed several other changes in their already busy lives. Weida and Mosa had another child, Albert, born 13 January 1921. The family also contemplated, then moved to a neighboring area with more Syrian immigrants and Syrian Americans. After changing residents in Paterson during the mid-1920s, Mosa, Weida and the children moved to Clifton, New Jersey, residing at 133 Madeline Avenue.

 

The birth of the multi-day, outdoor mahrajan in the 1930s and growing acceptance of immigrant folk cultures, also in the 1930s, grew into more gigs and performances in and outside Syrian communities for Mosa Kalooky. Paterson’s International Institute booked Mosa Kalooky, Kareem Maroon, and Mike Hamway for its Musical and Folk Dance Festival in April 1932. A week later, the Syrian American League of New Jersey hosted a hafla to coincide with the office installation and Mosa Kalooky accompanied vocalist Sara Tawil for the evening. Edward Gorab’s birthday celebration in February 1933, kept people “dancing til the late hours” with music for the younger attendees by Alice Kabbash on piano, Simon Kabbash and Fred Momary on violins, and Mosa Kalooky on kanun. Kalooky especially thrilled the older crowd of Syrians with tunes reminiscent of home. Similarly, the 1934 July fourth Mahrajan, sponsor by the Syrian American League of Passaic County, managed to book true old timers Moses Cohen, Naim Karacand, Fathallah Abeid, Mosa Kalooky, and others for its day of “swimming, boating, a baseball game, races, and dancing to music.”

 

Nineteen hundred thirty-five perhaps became one of busiest years for the Kalookys, but not on the maharajan circuit. A Ms. Nellie B. Vreeland filed a property suit against Weida and Mosa and one other person of Syrian descent. The result of the dispute ended with the selling of a piece of property on Madeline in Clifton. Weida’s involvement with the Syrian American League of Passaic County increased during this time as well. Of course, the children were older and this allowed her more time to pursue her own interests. Mosa squeezed in some time to perform, as well. The Homsian Fraterinty, obviously made up of people from across the New York and New Jersey area from Homs, hired Kalooky, his daughter, and Richard Momary as musicians for the event. Of note was Florence Kalooky’s marriage to Charles Darder in 1931. Florence did not join her father in August at the annual end-of-summer hafla at Idlewild Park; however, return performers from previous summer’s events included Moses Cohen, Naim Karacand, Fathallah Abeid, and Mosa Kalooky. Some 500+ Syrians attended the event. 

Some 500 people turned out to see Mosa Kalooky, Moses Cohen, and others perform. The News, 26 August 1935. Courtesy of Newspapers.com

For the remainder of the decade, much stayed the same with regard to cultural and social commitments Mosa and Weida seemed compelled to keep. Weida continued her activities organizing, planning, and fundraising for the Syrian American League. Mosa worked at the mill full-time, but also provided regular musical entertainment for the Homsian Fraternity and Syrian League engagements (along with John Azar and Richard L. and Richard M. Momary). More out of the ordinary and on a much sadder note respectively – the Syrian sword dance followed by music by Albert Kasally, Mike Hamway, and Mosa Kalooky at the Clifton Republican Second Ward Rally in October, 1939, and the death of Weida's father, the year before. Mosa and Weida found themselves defendants in another land claim suit as well.

 

As Mosa aged, he found himself on the organizing side of events for the Homs Fraternity, the Syrian American League, and the Syrian American Republican Club of Clifton, New Jersey. Mosa helped plan and organize several of these events in 1940. The family took time to celebrate the marriage of Albert, now 20 years old, to Evelyn Kabba. Local lore has it that the Kabbas were one of the founding families of the town of Nutley, New Jersey.  The Kabbas, also from Homs, Syria, operated the Kabba Dress Company.

Mosa, Weida, Albert (Eddie age 2), Florence, Evelyn (1945). Courtesy of Ronald Kalooky.

Most able-bodied men of age enlisted in the military, were drafted, or labored for military-related industries during World War II, this applied to Mosa and Albert Kalooky also. Both father and son worked for Wright Aero Corporation in Plant #4 in East Paterson. Mosa, of course, would have been too old to actively serve, anyhow. Approximately, 16,000 Syrian Americans served in World War II.

Mosa Kalooky's World War II draft card. Courtesy of Ancestry.com

Entering his sixties, we thought Mosa Kalooky would have shown signs of slowing down; instead, he seemed rejuvenated to play with musicians - new and old, first wave and second wave, mashriqi and mahjari-born.  It happened at Brooklyn’s Saint George Hotel and the event, the annual charity hafla sponsored by the Saint Nicholas Young Men’s Club in November 1953. Two thousand people packed the ballroom that night. Those who performed represented a who’s who of Arab American musicians – Anton Abdelahad, Elie Baida, Fadwa Abeid, Naim Karacand, Philip Solomon, Joe Budway, Eddie Kochak, Mosa Kalooky, and guest musician Sami el Shawwa. The gathering of some of the best musicians in the United States under a single roof occurred and they did not disappoint. Six months later, May 22, 1954, the Syrian American Citizens Club, Inc. and Ladies Auxiliary chose Sana and Amer Kadaj, Philip Solomon, John Nazarian, Mike Hamway, and Mosa Kalooky to play their 26^th anniversary party at the Swiss Hall in Union City. Together, the pioneers of Arab American recorded music jammed alongside the generation some scholars called “old timers.” Back in Paterson and closer to Mosa Kalooky’s Clifton, New Jersey home, Syrians Americans held a charity ball benefit for the Cerebral Palsy Center of Passaic County. Although small compared to the 1953 St Nick Men’s Club festivities, musical acts included Jamili Matouk-Deeb, Fawzia Amir (dancer), Mike Hamway, Naim Karacand, Mosa Kalooky, and Mohamed El-Bakkar. Of course, the Saint Nick Men’s Club attempted to outdo itself in November, 1954. Absent from this particular year was Fazia Amir who had to be hospitalized after a car accident in Philadelphia. On stage that night, Fadwa Abeid, Hanan, Philip Solomon, Anton Abdelahad, Naim Karacand, John Nazarian, Abe Messadi, Mike and George Hamway, Louis Karam, and Mosa Kalooky. The New Year’s Eve celebration at Brooklyn’s St. George Hotel Grand Ballroom ended 1954 with a bang and brought together Semi Sheheen, Little Sami Jourdak, Naim Karacand, Philip Solomon, Ray Beilouny, Leon Abood, Mike Hamway, Mosa Kalooky, and Russell Bunai. Word in the press says a disappointing 400 people only came out to the New Year’s Eve Party. Music and dancing lasted until 5:30 in the morning. This event marks one of Kalooky’s last musical events in Brooklyn. 

Flyer for New Year's Eve Celebration from December 9, 1954 Caravan. Courtesy of Newspapers.com

Mosa and Weida sold their home in Clifton, New Jersey by June 16, 1955 and moved south to Miami, Florida. They purchased a home at 2700 S.W. 37^th Avenue in Miami. Unlike younger musicians, Mosa Kalooky did not regularly travel on the hafla and mahrajan circuit between Florida and Massachusetts. After 1955, most reports of Mosa Kalooky playing alone or as part of an ensemble took place in Florida.  February 24, 1957 brought Kalooky back together with Amer Kadaj. Joining them were Toufic Barham on oud, and Fred Rahal and Mike Shashaty on derbeke. Kalooky and Shashaty also performed together, again, at the 3^rd annual Syrian American Clubs of the State of Florida West Palm Beach convention nearly three months later 10 May 1957. Other musicians in West Palm Beach including Fadwa Abeid, Naim Karacand, Emil Kasses also entertained.

 

There are few Arab American musicians and recording artist Mosa Kalooky did not play with during the course of his career. Relocation to Florida meant opportunities to play with and alongside, Odette Kaddo, Nasser Kaddo, Antoine Hage, and John Fayad on 12 February 1956 to benefit charity.

According to Mosa Kalooky's grandson, Mosa Kalooky played kanun on Mohamed El-Bakkar's Port Said LP. Recorded in 1957 on Audio Fidelity, the album's cover or liner notes do not credit the individual members of El-Bakkar's ensemble. However, a photograph owned by Raymond Rashid, whose father, Albert Rashid owned Rashid Sales and  Al-Chark Records, shows what appears to be El-Bakkar's ensemble, and Mosa Kalooky standing to the far right with a kanun. It's very possible that Kalooky appeared as the kanun player of El-Bakkar's follow-up albums, but we can't say for sure.

Photo of Mohamed El-Bakkar and his Ensemble. The person standing to the right with the kanun is Mosa Kalooky. Courtesy of Raymond Rashid.

Mosa Kalooky did not spend all of his time with working or traveling from gig to gig. Raising fancy pigeons became one of Mosa Kalooky's many hobbies outside of music. Mosa's grandson remembers the elder Kalooky building a pigeon coop and releasing his pigeons to have them return. Beyond the eyes of the press, Kalooky entered his birds in competitions and his feathered-friends brought back ribbons and awards.

Mosa Kalooky with his prized pigeons and pigeon coop. 1959, Courtesy of Ron Kalooky.

As Mosa and Weida aged, life in Miami meant no further worries about New Jersey's cold winters, but the elder Kalooky's missed their families, and especially their grandchildren. This made one of their grandson's decision to attend school the University of Miami, all the more important. It warmed Mosa and Weida's hearts that Ron attended school in the city and Weida shared all sorts of Syrian recipes with him, especially when he lived with them his second year in school. Since Mosa did not drive, derbeke player and family-friend Mike Shashaty would visit, play whist, and drive Mosa to Miami's Syrian Lebanon American Club at 2626 SW Third Avenue for the occasional gig.

Evelyn, Mosa, Weida, Ron in 1954 & Weida, Ron, Mosa in1976. Courtesy of Ron Kalooky.

After eighty-eight trips around the sun, pioneering kanunist Mosa Kalooky died at Coral Gables Hospital on 18 June 1977, after a prolonged illness. At the time, Weida, Florence, and Albert and the grandchildren survived him.  Weida lived until 1986, nine years after Mosa. Florence passed on in 1996 and Albert, who co-owned and worked at Kabbas Dress Company, passed away as recently as 2013.  

As of May 2022, the family still proudly owns Mosa Kalooky's kanun.

Photo of Mosa Kalooky's kanun. Note it's the same as that in the 1950s photo of Kalooky in Mohamed El-Bakkar's orchestra. Courtesy of Ron Kalooky.

Special Thanks to Ron Kalooky and Ray Rashid.

Richard M. Breaux

© Midwest Mahjar