The beautiful Druze singer Asmaham (born Amal al-Atrash) was born in the Mediterranean Sea, and came from Syrian and Lebanese heritage. She died in an auto accident at the age of 31, but by then, she left an indelible mark on the world of Arabic music.
40s
[Music] Various Artists – Nightingales & Canaries, Vol. 1: “Oriental” Women on Record, New York & Istanbul, 1928-55
https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3272306330/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/New York City was home to a vibrant musical scene filled with singers from Anatolia, Istanbul and the region of Roumelia. Christians and Jews joined together in making some rather bawdy music.
This treasure was released by Ian Nagoski’s Canary Records, a label filled with some absolute gems.
[Music] Edgard Varèse – Tuning Up
Not Edgard Varèse’s most famous piece, but it’s amazing just the same.
[Music] Various Artists – The Lost 45s of Sudan (ShellacHead Annual 2015)
I feel like I struck solid gold today! Thanks to the brilliant lads over at Shellac Head, a fine reissue label one should explore deeply, I’m able to dig into a pile of fine Sudanese music. Only the most committed bin divers know about these tracks. At $5, it’s a steal!
[Music] 50 French Songs You Need To Hear Before You Die
Buzzfeed rarely surprises me as pleasantly as they have with this article, compiling some of the finest, and occasionally, cheesiest, French songs of all time.
[Music] Kate Smith – God Bless America
Kate Smith seems very appropriate today, 14 years after the 9/11 attack.
[Music] Lily Pons – The Echo Song
The Franco-Italian opera singer Lily Pons was a staple at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, as well as on television during the 1950s.
[Music] Léon Theremin Playing His Own Instrument
The creator of the Theremin would have been 119 years old today!
[Music] Fats Waller – By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1942)
Masterful romantic music, courtesy of Fats Waller and my niece, who has apparently fallen in love with this track.
[Music] Nat ‘King’ Cole, En Español
From Wikipedia:
I started out to become a jazz pianist; in the meantime I started singing and I sang the way I felt and that’s just the way it came out.
— Nat ‘King’ Cole, Voice of America interview
Few remember Nat ‘King’ Cole’s incredible piano playing abilities, but they certainly never seem to forget a his smooth, baritone voice, which handled languages outside of his native English with ease.
NPR dedicates a radio program to one of the smoothest voices jazz ever produced here.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 