Eftekasat and Nagham Masry celebrate Ousso joining the AUC staff

To celebrate Ousso joining the AUC staff, Eftekasat and Nagham Masry held a concert at the AUC Ewart Hall on 22 November

On 22 November Eftekasat and Nagham Masry held a concert at the AUC Ewart Hall. The concert celebrated Mohamed "Ousso" Lotfy joining the AUC staff. Ousso plays electric guitar in both bands and is considered one of the most prominent professional electric guitarists in Egypt.
John Baboukis, head of the music department at AUC, announced that Ousso will start teaching electric guitar next semester.
“You all better enroll in that class,” jokes Baboukis.
Eftekasat, the instrumental band that plays oriental jazz fusion, astounded cheering crowds with their percussion, keyboard and violin solos. One of their best pieces included an impressive violin solo by Mohamed Medhat in the song “Anxious Dance.” The band played music from both of their albums, Mouled Sidi El-Latini, released in 2006, and their new album Dandasha, released last May.
Among the songs played from their old album were “Titre" and"Faction,” which included a very long drum solo full of vigor. They also played “Jazzmina” from their new album.
Nagham Masry then took the stage. Their instruments, like Eftekasat, were a mixture of both eastern and western, but theeastern touch was more dominant. The band played the qanoon and oud and their lyrics were based on poetry by Ahmed Foad Negm, Foad Haddad, Salah Ghaheen and Amal Donkol.
Sherbini Ahmed, the band's vocalist, began by reciting the first stanza of a poem, received with an uproar from the audience. The band then led into the song. A percussion solo by Hany Bedeir served as a nice interlude in the performance.
Among the poems performed as songs by the band were “Istanbul” by Foad Haddad, “Ebn Adam” by Salah Gaheen and “Telea el Sabah” by Ahmed Foad Negm.
Both bands have gained popularity in the contemporary Egyptian music scene.
Eftekasat is one of the most accomplished bands in Egypt, and have performed both locally and abroad. They have performaed at the Carthage Jazz festival and shared the stage with two time Grammy award-winning Latin band Ozomatly during their Middle East tour in 2007.
Nagham Masry was founded by their vocalist Sherbini Ahmed, who initially performed songs set to Ahmed Foad Negm's poetry. In collaboration with Ousso, the band was formed in 2000. Sherbini uses music as a form of protest and is quite popular among the fans of El Sheikh Imam.