MARK TURNER wallows in the virtuosity of Swansea Jazz Festival openers, Simon Spillett and Pete Long

Ferkat Al Ard
Oghneya
(Habibi Funk)
★★★★
THE latest reissue from Berlin-based Habibi Funk, Oghneya, was originally released by Ferkat Al Ard in Lebanon 1978 — on cassette tape by the band themselves.
Led by Issam Hajali, the set is a fabulous mix of Arab, jazz, folk, rock and Brazilian musical styles such as bossa nova and tropicalia (Brazil has the largest Lebanese diaspora in the world, apparently).

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