(4 March 2016) A musical dialogue between the West and the Middle East is possible, as the Lebanese tour of the Italian trio featuring Stefano Maurizi, Luciano Biondini and Mohammed Abuzekry showed audiences. The musical event, entitled “Middle Eastern Musical Dialogues,” was organized by the Italian Cultural Institute of Beirut in collaboration with Lebanese partners. The project, brainchild of pianist Stefano Maurizi, explores the sounds of world music and new jazz, comparing traditionally Western instruments like the piano and the accordion to the Middle Eastern instrument par excellence, the oud, (aka the Eastern lute). Most of the songs performed were composed by the trio in a musical experiment that fused art and poetry with traditional Mediterranean rhythms and jazz. The tour was a tribute to the history of the Mediterranean, ripe with the constant interaction between different cultures. (Sip)
The “Middle Eastern Musical Dialogues” bring Italy and Lebanon closer together
