The Music of John Fayad: La Voz del Desierto
The Music of John Fayad: La Voz del Desierto Photo of John Fayad. circa 1975. Courtesy of Richard M. Breaux collection. Before writing this profile, I could find very little information about John Fayad in one place. I first came across his name in 2019 when I purchased two 78 rpm records on the Voz del Desierto label. Searches online and in Discogs yielded albums on the Piramade label also named Voz del Desierto. No 78s on the label emerged in my results signaling the rarity of the two 78 rpm discs likely recorded and pressed at the height of Fayad’s career in the 1950s. Fayad’s oud playing is stellar. Remarkably as good as any of his contemporaries in the United States or Latin America. But available government records suggest Fayad remained a roaming musician for most of his life. For short periods he resided in Havana, Miami, Belize City, and Mexico City, but he was never in any of these places long enough to leave anything but a smattering of documents. He should also not b...