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Dave Soldier

Zajal

Mulatta Records

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Non Me Mordas Habibi (Don't Bite Me Baby)
1 The Spy  
2 Water and Fire  
3 My Visitor in the Morning  
4 My Father  
5 Without Myself  
6 The Stars of Country Music Greet the Spring  
7 Land of Spain  
8 Don't Bite Me Baby  
9 Battle  
10 Beautiful Boy  
11 If  
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Zajal, renowned Downtown composer and instrumentalist Dave Soldier explores the beginning of popular song and locates it 1000 years ago at the intersection of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures in southern Spain. Zajal, along with muwashaha, were the lyrics of medieval Andalusia. While many are still sung today (notably in Lebanon), their offspring are everywhere. On a trip to Spain in 2004, Soldier read about the Andalusian caliphate, when the Muslim, Christian and Jewish com- munities not only coexisted, but co-created much of the world we inhabit today. Together, they produced the novel, cowboy culture, the guitar, the dance suite, the Kabbalah, Maimonides and ibn Arabi and the discovery of the New World. And modern song: the zajal and muwashaha introduced the verse and chorus that are the backbone of popular music. Imitation of Andalusia's singing oud players begat the troubadours and the figure of the wandering poet and singer in its myriad incarnations, from Villon to Joni Mitchell.

  • Dave Soldier is using science to expand our idea of what music can be / The New Yorker
    Posted At: March 27, 2023 12:00 AM
    The Wild World of Music. What can elephants, birds, and flamenco players teach a neuroscientist-composer about music?By, The New Yorker's Burkhard Bilger……After keeping his careers separate for years, David Sulzer is using science to expand our idea of what music can be.  Listen to the storyRead the transcript……Luk Kop didn’t seem to have the makings of a musical prodigy. He didn’t hum made-up tunes to...
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  • Columbia U. Medical Center Ph.D & Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Pharmacology - David Sulzer discusses; Music, Math, & Mind
    Posted At: September 22, 2021 12:00 AM

    Miyako Yerick writes.....Why does a clarinet play at lower pitches than a flute? What does it mean for sounds to be in or out of tune? How are emotions carried by music? Do other animals perceive sound like we do? Prof. David Sulzer, also known in the musical world as Dave Soldier, explains why the perception of music encompasses the physics of sound, the functions of the ear and deep-brain auditory ...
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  • House Of Prog Radio broadens horizons with Dave Soldier's 'Zajal'
    Posted At: July 13, 2020 12:00 AM

    It is not often I feel totally unprepared and unable to write a review of an album, and it only happens when I am sent something which is so far outside my own musical terms of reference that I find I am floundering somewhat, close to drowning. I do recall it happening when I reviewed Dennis Rea's incredible ‘Views From Chicheng Precipice' some years back, as there he was bringing traditional Chine...
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  • A little goes a long way on Dave Soldier's 'Zajal' / jazz Journal
    Posted At: June 30, 2020 12:00 AM

    "There is no denying the emotional expression and feeling of the music, the joy and exuberance transmitted, and at times it certainly lifts the spirits, but unless you have a taste for this style, a little goes a long way" An intriguing release, this is really world music, drawing on Middle Eastern and Andalusian traditions, with guitarist and keyboard player Dave Soldier setting poems, mainly Hebrew...
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  • Zajal with Dave Soldier and Pedro Cortes - How medieval Andalusia influenced the entire western hemisphere
    Posted At: April 30, 2020 12:00 AM

    Composer and instrumentalist Dave Soldier explores the beginning of popular song and locates it 1000 years ago at the intersection of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures in southern Spain. Zajal, along with muwashaha, were the lyrics of medieval Andalusia. While many are still sung today (notably in Lebanon), their offspring are everywhere. On a trip to Spain in 2004, Soldier read about the Andalusian...
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  • Zajal with Dave Soldier and Pedro Cortes - the spanish tradition 'Is' our culture
    Posted At: March 27, 2020 12:00 AM

    Lyrics in medieval Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish from Andalusia, 900-1400 C.E. The Golden Age of Spain that created the tradition of Western song, from Schubert and Verdi to Hank Williams and the Beatles    Zajal, renowned Downtown composer and instrumentalist Dave Soldier explores the beginning of popular song and locates it 1000 years ago at the intersection of Muslim, Jewish, and Christ...
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  • Dave Soldier traces the origin of modern song to medieval Spain / People's World
    Posted At: March 20, 2020 12:00 AM

    In the wake of our review of his Naked Revolution: A Socialist Realist Opera, the composer, Dave Soldier, thought People's World might also be interested in his CD Zajal, an album of 11 songs performed in Hebrew, Arabic and Romance (early Spanish), and one in English. The poets in all but one song lived in what was called the Golden Age of Spain, a time from 900 to 1400 CE, when a civilization flourished...
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  • Dave Soldier - Zajal is Jazz Weekly ****RINGER OF THE WEEK****
    Posted At: February 20, 2020 12:00 AM

    Dave Soldier plays guitar and keyboards with a collection of artists both instrumental and vocal to celebrate musical intersections of Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths and cultures. Sounds of the Mediterranean, Middle East and beyond are treated with respect as well as ecunumenicism, with hand percussion, clapping and timbales along with stringed instruments like the oud, sentur and violins along with...
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  • Dave Soldier's 'Zajal' covers the origins of western song / keysandchords
    Posted At: February 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    Flamenco guitarist, composer and multi-instrumentalist Dave Soldier has been exploring cultural boundaries throughout his life. He founded a string quartet that fused punk, classical and R&B, but also played punk Delta Blues and started the Thai Elephant Orchestra. Now he explores the roots of pop songs, and found them about a thousand years ago at the crossroads of Muslim, Jewish and Christian cultu...
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  • Dave Soldier's 'Zajal is a super pastiche of influences and exotic sounds / The Graham Album Review
    Posted At: February 4, 2020 12:00 AM

    For me, musical eclecticism can be not only fascinating and innovative, but fun when seemingly incompatible influences come together, sometimes with results that can be seriously innovative, and sometimes just wacky. This week we have a super pastiche of influences that combine a number of exotic sounds in what I think is a quite entertaining way. It's by Dave Soldier, and the album is called Zajal. ...
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  • Dave Soldier's latest majestic epic is joyfully rhythmic, ultra-infectious flamenco fire, that illuminates Spanish history / Deep Roots
    Posted At: January 27, 2020 12:00 AM

    Flamenco guitarist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and musical visionary Dave Soldier has been blazing fascinating, culturally transcendent boundaries his whole life, from founding a string quartet that fused punk, classical and R&B to playing punk Delta Blues and starting the Thai Elephant Orchestra with real pachyderms. So we shouldn't be surprised that on his latest majestic epic, Zajal, he surro...
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  • Dave Soldier - Zajal is a lovingly compiled musical scrapbook from the Middle East and Andalusia / blogcritics
    Posted At: January 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    Dave Soldier‘s newest release bracingly fuses originality and tradition. Zajal is a "world music" album that sounds like a lovingly compiled scrapbook of music from the Middle East and Andalusia. But it's deceptive: With one exception, all the music is by the ever-imaginative Soldier. For this project the keyboardist and guitarist has set thousand-year-old poems in Hebrew, Arabic and the other ...
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  • Dave Soldier's 'Zajal' is wonderful / Music Guru
    Posted At: January 15, 2020 12:00 AM

    Dave Soldier's 'Zajal,' which has some beautiful music flowing all around it, also contains lyrics in Hebrew, Arabic, Farsi, and 1 song in English. The music is wonderful, the voices sound very nice. If you understand all of the languages above, you'll be able to get the whole picture, otherwise, you'll just have to sit back & enjoy the music. I can understand French, Spanish, Hebrew &...
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  • Dave Soldier - Zajal is very unusual but very impressive / Jazz Quad
    Posted At: January 13, 2020 12:00 AM

    The third time I meet with the works of American musician Dave Solger (aka David Sulzer, a prominent neuropsychiatric scientist from Columbia University), and each time he amazes with the unusual, imagination and creativity of his musical projects. First it was The Eighth Hour of Amduat (2016) - an avant-garde opera (?) On the themes of Ancient Egypt, then The Brainwave Music Project (2017), a joint proj...
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  • Dave Soldier brings a worldly feel to his latest release - Zajal / JP's MUSIC BLOG
    Posted At: January 8, 2020 12:00 AM

    A trip to Spain in 2004, inspired world-renowned jazz composer and instrumentalist Dave Soldier to create an album of music performed in the languages of Hebrew, Arabic, early Spanish (Romance) and Farsi. Soldier's new album titled "Zajal" features eleven tracks that certainly brings a worldly feel to his latest release, as only a master of ancient languages will understand the lyrics of each song. T...
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  • Dave Soldier - Zajal is a fusion listen of the highest degree and something really unique / TAKE EFFECT
    Posted At: January 6, 2020 12:00 AM

    Now here's something really unique, a jazz record that's often sung in Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish from Andalusia 900-1400 C.E. Spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist and composer Dave Soldier, he's got a small army of musicians contributing atypical instruments to us Westerners like sentur, timbales, and palmas, among others. A fusion listen of the highest degree, Soldier has dabbled in countless genre...
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  • On Zajal, Dave Soldier surrounds his joyfully rhythmic, ultra-infectious flamenco fire, with sweeping colors and exotic textures that illuminate Spanish history / JWVIBE
    Posted At: January 2, 2020 12:00 AM

    Flamenco guitarist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and musical visionary Dave Soldier has been blazing fascinating, culturally transcendent boundaries his whole life – from founding a string quartet that fused punk, classical and R&B to playing punk Delta Blues and starting the Thai Elephant Orchestra with real pachyderms. So we shouldn't be surprised that on his latest majestic epic, Zajal, h...
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  • If you are looking to bathe your ears in music that is fresh and culturally different, Dave Soldier's 'Zajal' is the very thing / Musicalmemoirs
    Posted At: January 1, 2020 12:00 AM

    I learned,from the publicity package, that Dave Soldier is celebrating popular songs from 1000 years ago that intersected and embraced Muslim, Jewish and Christian cultures in Southern Spain. Zajal features the lyrics of medieval Andalusia. The lyrics are by the major Arabic and Hebrew poets of medieval Spain. There is one song by the Persian contemporary of these poets, Rumi, who writes in Farsi. Many o...
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  • Dave Soldier's 'Zajal' is a totally unique musical adventure / Contemporary Fusion Reviews
    Posted At: December 24, 2019 12:00 AM

    I will tell you right now that you haven't heard such totally unique musical adventure as you'll find on this album… the video below for the song "Don't Bite Me Baby" will give you a clear insight into Dave's diverse musical palette.Dave assembled a whole HOST of players for this, far too long to list here, so check the player list out at the Mulatta Records page for the album… songs like "...
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  • If Dave Soldier's world beat set doesn't blow your mind, your passport is revoked / Midwest Record
    Posted At: December 23, 2019 12:00 AM

    Half the fun of this session from this guitar mash up master is picking out the influences while you are listening. Unless you are really good, all your guesses will be wrong because no matter what cross pollinations you think you are hearing, this set is mostly 1,000 year old tunes from the middle east---just with a patina of modern special sauce, sometimes. Not just for armchair travelers, if this worl...
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  • Dave Soldier - Naked Revolution will prick up your ears / beyondcriticism
    Posted At: September 7, 2018 12:00 AM

    Next to prick up your ears: Naked Revolution: A Socialist Realist Opera from Immigrant Dreams by the polymath Dave Soldier, composer without borders and Columbia University brain researcher(on the Mulatta label). The libretto, by Maira di Niscemi (a new name to me), is every bit as hallucinatory as the subtitle suggests. Our first excerpt, "I was not my father's eldest son," involves George Washingto...
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