Born in Galilee and trained by his father in the oud, the Arab lute, Simon Shaheen is a virtuoso of traditional Middle Eastern music. Yet Shaheen also learned the violin as a child, and has lived in the United States for 20 years. His music reflects a similar range: His crossover group, Qantara, recently backed Arabic music's "Two Tenors," Wadi al Safi and Sabah Fahkri, but Shaheen also arranged the violin section for Sting's concert version of "Desert Rose" and remade Colombian singer Soraya's hit "I'm Yours" with a Middle Eastern twist.
Shaheen & Qantara's debut album, "Blue Flame," bridges East and West, but hops over pop. Instead, the group melds Arabic styles with American jazz and Western folk and classical music, especially that of Eastern Europe and Spain (which has longstanding ties to the Arab world). …
Arab American News; September 7, 2001
The Birmingham Post (England); March 30, 2002
Dayton Daily News (Dayton, OH); February 8, 2008
US Fed News Service, Including US State News; September 22, 2009
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