Kazem Alsaher
By: Nancy Kassis
On September 12th of 1961 in Al-Mousel, Iraq, Kazem Jabbar Ibrahim -AKA Kazem El-Saher-
was born into an already large and modest family. Kazem’s father was in the military forces at the
time and when he retired he opened his own small shop for fixing furniture. Kazem’s creativity was
first discovered when he started making his own toys from clay and wire due to the humble financial
state of his family.
Later he moved on to writing poetry and was so in love with music that he sold his bike when he
was 11 and bought a Oud. It was then that the young and determined Kazem composed his first poem “Laki Antee” (for you). Kazem then began teaching music at a woman’s unity association at the age of 19. But, that was not all he did at the age of 19; the young star also got married to his cousin at that early age. After just two years, the promising singer enrolled in the Institute of Music. It was before he graduated that Kazem sang his first major hit; “Ladghat El-Hayya” (the snake's bite) (1987). Soon to follow were his other hits “Inni Khayartek” (I gave you the choices)- by the great poet Nazar Qabanni-and “Abart El-Shat” (crossed the shore)(1988), that launched his fame in Iraq and the Arab countries. Upon graduating in 1988, the young artist was dreaming of further invading the music field and actually achieved a lot by releasing his first two albums “Ghazal” (gazelle) in 1989 and then “Yal Aziz” in 1990.
But his dreams were put on hold due to the Gulf war. However that was not going to stop this determined and self- built singer from following the road he had already started long ago. Kazem moved to Lebanon and continued his career and dazzled the Arab world with his strong Patriotism in his hit song “Kathur Alhadeeth”. The year 1992 witnessed his next dazzling album “Haza Allon” and then came “La Ya Sadiki” in 1993. This was truly a masterpiece that further proved the singer’s vocal abilities.(2)
It was in 1994 that Kazem relocated to Cairo and in 1995 he faced the Egyptian audience for the first time with “Salamtek Men Elah”-which was an instant hit. The poem was written, composed and performed by Kazem and thus manifested his talents were multiple and exceeded singing. The star was now well known and continued to sell thousands of copies of his albums. Next to come was “Baad Alhob” in 1995 which was no different than the previous albums. His ever popular album “Fi Madraset Al-Hob” came in 1996 as another much expected success story.
By now the singer was far beyond proving his talents to anyone but was actually quenching the thirst of the audience who had been deprived of such meaningful poems and songs for so long. Kazem’s couldn’t stop now even if he wanted to as his popularity grew worldwide. He released “Ana Wa Laila” in 1998 and in the same year he won a UNICEF award for his song “Tathakar” which he had earlier performed in the United States for the congress and United Nations. “Habebti wal matter” hit the markets in 1999 and “Al Hob Al Mostahel” came in the year 2000 to hit not only the Arab markets but the international markets also. His next album; “Abhathu Anki”, came in 2001 and was soon followed by another winner; “Kesat Habebayn”, in 2002 and then finally “Hafeyat Al Kadameen” in 2003. The rest is still to come from the singer who composes most of his music and goes on his tours fully equipped with 35 men in his orchestra. (3)
Al-Saher finally left Iraq in 1993, moving first to Lebanon, and then settling in Cairo. But America had proved to be friendly territory, even though none of his albums was officially released there (that wouldn't happen until 2000, with The Impossible Love, still his only U.S. record); in 1998 he performed his composition "Tathakkar" for the U.S. Congress and the United Nations, winning a UNICEF award. He recently participated in a unique interdisciplinary project at Ohio State University. The program uses a multimedia environment to introduced students to Middle Eastern cultures through contemporary songs. Kazem created the flagship module, a celebration of his favorite city, Baghdad.(4)
NEIL STRAUSS from the New York Times wrote no less than two features on Kazim. And his shows, of course, were sell-outs. It was unprecedented in world music he wrote (5). In "Beauty and His Love," the singer Kazem al-Sahir confesses to his girlfriend that there is someone he loves more than her, someone whom he sleeps with every night, someone whom he dreams of daily. His distraught girlfriend begs him to reveal the name of this lover. Her name, he finally tells her, is Baghdad. Mr. Sahir, 41, is not only Iraq's biggest pop star but also one of the most popular singers in the Arab world, a dashing romantic who has sold about 31 million albums. And as Iraq and the United States prepare for war, he has chosen to do something that almost any thinking person would say was foolish. He is starting an American tour. It began on Saturday night with a private performance for the Maloofs, the Lebanese-American family that owns the Palms, and their guests. Mr. Sahir is scheduled to perform in Manhattan on Friday night at the Beacon Theatre.
Here is a link to the rest of the article
A month before the first missiles hit Baghdad in March, a remarkable thing happened - Kazim Al-Saher, one of the biggest names in Iraqi music, toured the United States. What was truly astonishing was the amount of media coverage he received; all the networks, from CNN to CBS, besieged him. There were appearances on Good Morning America and MSNBC shows.
Kazem Alsaher: A Universal Award Winner (1)
It's nice to know the most famous Iraqi singer in the Middle East, Kathem Al-Sahir, has been awarded the Audience Award at the BBC Radio 3 Awards For World Music 2004. He also won the Middle East and North Africa category.
Here's a video link to Kathem's performance at the awards ceremony. The first song is a love song. The second song is about Baghdad. It's a very nice song where he describes Baghdad as his lover. Actually, it's a great song. Non-Middle-Easterners may know Kathem from the "War Is Over" song with Sara Brightman.6
Interested to hear more of Kazem's work? check out 6arab.com.
1. Kathem's Photos. 28 Nov. 2005 .http://www.kathemalsahir.com/index-Dateien/Page950.htm
2. "Kazem El Saher." Arabic Nights. 29 Nov. 2005 . http://www.arabicnights.com.au/artists/kathem_el_saher.php
3. Kadhem AlSaher Fans Foundation. 3 Dec. 2005
4. "Biography." 3arabia. 3 Dec. 2005
5. Strauss, Neil. "Iraqi Star Tours U.S. and Sings of Baghdad." The New York Times. 26 Feb. 2003. 3 Dec. 2005
6. "Awards For World Music And Kathem Al-Sahir." Iraqi In America. 21 Mar. 2004. 3 Dec. 2005 . http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/26/arts/music/26SING.html?ex=1134241478&ei=1&en=aa031cfe839b51f0
7. 6arab. 3 Dec. 2005
By: Nancy Kassis
