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

  On Radio & Record: The Pioneering Piano Music of Elizabeth Awad Elizabeth Awad, circa 1970s. Courtesy of Diane G. & Donald N.  In 1928 and 1929, Columbia Records 50000-X series of Arabic-language 78-rpm shellac discs recorded in the United States. Today, collectors rarely, if ever come across these exclusive discs. A few by Aziza Helmi, Prince Mouhadin , and Nahim Simon, have surfaced but others remain rare and/or unseen by living collectors and researchers. One musician we’ve discussed before, in our profile on Abraham Messadi , was oudist Toufic Moubaid. We mentioned the musician Moubaid collaborated with on radio and several early recordings, Elizabeth Awad, in passing. This post, however, hopes to shine a spotlight on pianist Elizabeth Awad.  Before they made their way to Columbia Studios at 233 Broadway in Manhattan’s Woolworth Building, Toufic Moubaid and Elizabeth Awad regularly appeared together on radio and one of the first radio programs to feature Ar...