Oud v’Rikoud

November 6, 2009 - 4:19 PM by Brian Blum

oud The annual Jerusalem International Oud Festival has become the leading event of its kind on the ethnic music calendar. Now in its tenth year, the festival, which kicks off next week, lasts for 16 days and includes shows in both Jerusalem and Nazareth. But those of us fortunate to have attended last week’s “Boogie Nights” dance party got a special sneak preview.

Boogie is a Jerusalem institution. A twice-monthly feel good free movement extravaganza, Boogie is a place where you don’t have to worry about your dance steps or dance partner. You just flail your arms around, hop up and down and twirl to the beat which emphasizes energetic world music rather than the disco or trance found at more traditional dance clubs and bars.

This edition of Boogie featured an hour-long Oud performance in a separate room. The tight group of three actually performed on guitar, darbuka and a strange breathy sounding flute. The crowd lounged on yoga mats arranged haphazardly across the floor. Many clutched cups of Chai tea, a popular Boogie beverage – in keeping with its international flavor.

The oud is a strange-sounding (to Western ears) kind of Middle Eastern lute. It owes it origins to the Arab world but there are now practitioners from Turkey, Spain, India, and Greece. To mix it up even more, the opening night of the official festival next week features veteran Israeli rockers Nikmat HaTraktor (The Tractor’s Revenge) performing oud and electric guitar versions of Jewish piyutim (medieval poetry).

As for the funky rhyming name of the Boogie special evening – “Oud v’Rikoud” – the latter is Hebrew for dance. I wonder what they’ll call the next Boogie in two weeks which features another eclectic special event: an African drumming workshop and performance. I’ll most certainly be there and let you know.

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