Description
Known for his website ‘Musical Intifada’, his rich and meaningful lyrics and his musical flexibility and creativity, Doc Jazz has been a contributor to the world of pro-Palestine music since the beginning of this century.
Front Door Key (2007)
Front Door Key is the flagship album of Doc Jazz, Palestinian surgeon and musician. While Doc Jazz usually records his songs entirely by himself, playing all the instruments, doing all the vocals, and taking care of the entire production, Front Door Key is the exception to this rule.
This album was professionally produced by Forrest Thomas and features an impressive line-up of professional musicians, like Susanne Alt (alto saxophone), Michelle David (backing vocals), Keith Keyes (bass), Eddie Conard (percussion), and Ward Veenstra (keyboard, guitar, and drum arrangements).
This has resulted in a unique album, where strong lyrics, passionate vocals, smooth rhythms and jazzy melodies blend together in a harmonious and funky style that sounds new, but at the same time brings back the creativity and purity of the music of the late 70′s and 80′s.
Next to guitar, piano, bass and drums, Doc Jazz also plays the Ud (arabic lute), the shibbabeh (Palestinian flute) and the darbekkeh (hand drum). In all tracks, he is featured on lead vocals, but also on guitar, keys and the shibbabeh in some of the songs.
The music on this unique album will give you a peaceful and jazzy atmosphere if you put its mellow sounds at a low volume, doing whatever it is you are doing … but if you turn it up, and let the music take you away, you will be moved, rocked and challenged.
inSURGency (2008)
inSURGency features funky songs from the Palestinian surgeon and musician known as Doc Jazz. Returning to a somewhat rawer and unpolished sound in comparison to his previous album, Front Door Key (prod. by Forrest Thomas), Doc Jazz again delivers a CD that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Doc Jazz is a multi-instrumentalist and, contrary to Front Door Key, this album was made without any collaborating artists.
While the tight and solid rhythms throughout the album help it retain its contemporary 21st century flavor, the harmonies as well as the funky guitars and electronic and acoustic pianos often call to mind the sounds of the heyday of funk and fusion.
The combination of songs on this album leads you away from what is considered mainstream, somewhat further than the music of Doc Jazz usually does. From the laid-back funky rhythms of ‘Fast Lane’ to the eerie atmosphere created by the cynical ‘Fly in the Soup’, from the thumping dance-beat of ‘Photo Shock’ to the instrumental adventures of ‘Nearly East’, this album, like no other, showcases the creative and musical flexibility of Doc Jazz.
The metaphor-rich lyrics of the songs that came together on this CD add to the sense of singularity that is evoked by the musical shape-shifting that is going on throughout the album.
Intifada (2012)
INTIFADA features a collection of some of the most popular resistance songs by Palestinian doctor and artist Doc Jazz.
If you look at the two albums released before this one, Front Door Key and inSURGency, you will notice that Doc Jazz used a blend of both activist and non-activist songs in their song lists. This album however is entirely devoted to the Palestinian struggle, and therefore is appropriately called “INTIFADA”, starting with the title song. ‘Intifada’ is not only the song that kicked off the Musical Intifada project towards the end of 2001, but is also Doc Jazz’s most popular and well-known track.
Many of the songs on this CD have never been released on CD before but were made available as downloadable mp3’s. A few songs appeared on the previous Doc Jazz albums Front Door Key and inSURGency. All songs on INTIFADA were written by Doc Jazz, lyrics as well as music.
The instruments and vocals on this album were all done by Doc Jazz, with the exception of the songs Intifada, Home (for Jenin) and The Wall Must Fall. Credits to the musicians who contributed their instrumental and vocal skills to these songs can be found on the album Front Door Key and on the Doc Jazz website. It must however be noted that the saxophone on ‘Right of Return’ was played by Susanne Alt, just like on the Front Door Key album.
The two last tracks on the album are Arabic songs by Doc Jazz, blending traditional Palestinian and modern Western rhythms and sounds together.
This album can be seen as a “Best of” album that compiles together some of the most popular tracks of Doc Jazz, and ensures that you will be kept in an atmosphere of positive action and struggle throughout the whole CD. You are invited to immerse yourself in this Musical Intifada and identify with the just struggle of the Palestinian people for the liberation of their land.
Track Listings
Front Door Key: 1. Positive Effect | 2. Running Out of Time | 3. The Wall Must Fall | 4. Home (for Jenin) | 5. Castles in the Sky | 6. My Love | 7. Intifada | 8. If We Pretend | 9. For Life | 10. Power of Illusion | 11. Make a Change | 12. Time Out
inSURGency: 1. Fast Lane | 2. 21st Century Blues | 3. That Melody | 4. Nearly East | 5. Loving Each Other | 6. Free Market | 7. Fly in the Soup | 8. Free Jerusalem | 9. Closure (War Crimes) | 10. Photo Shock | 11. Everything To Me | 12. Stowaway
Intifada: 1. Intifada | 2. Right of Return | 3. We Resist (Free Palestine) | 4. Healing Hands | 5. Freedom Flotilla | 6. Free Jerusalem | 7. Home (for Jenin) | 8. The Wall Must Fall | 9. Justice Leads the Way | 10. Wake Up! | 11. Falasteen (al 3alam) | 12. Undhor!
