Art Yard 
Salah Ragab & The Cairo Jazz Band : Egyptian Jazz
(='Ramadan In Space Time' (EG,rec.1968-1973,pub.2006)****'
Golden Years Of New Jazz Sun Ra Meets Salah Ragab In Egypt (EG/US,1983)***°'
I need to mention both albums that are available from Rag Salah and his Cairo Jazz Band. They seem to have mastered a certain range of jazz styles, fused it at times but not always with Egyptian themes or transformed this into jazz format. They are from such a professional level they seem to have mastered original styles with a slightly improvised creative approach towards what they know.
Salah Ragab formed this first jazz big band in Egypt in 1968, and was also the leader of the Military Music Departments in Heliopolis. On this recording the band consists of five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones, piano, bass, drums and Egyptian hand percussion (but no bells).
The item only just arrived. A few tracks are with full big banging band. Most of it has complex percussion with great jazz which makes this album really remarkable.
Sun Ra’s meeting with this band I think was also highly original. He brings funny but also well done traditional oriental themes in combination with jazz in comparable ways, with an extra Sun Ra touch without overdoing. But there are also some percussive improvisations, which are more African than oriental, simplified in a way, but well adapted with a returning old school jazz theme. The last piece, which I think are both bands melted is a free jazz improvisation, which sounds a bit overdone to me. The album itself is something for repeated listens. Full review on next page->
