CAIRO - My very first article for The Egyptian Gazette, this newspaper sister paper, included an interview with someone who has been in the music scene for a long time and whose perseverance is something many people admire – Yehya Khalil. If we are going to talk about the history of this legendary drummer then we will have so much to say. That is why we'd better stick to the past few years, the present and of course his future plans. What I admire most about him is the way he's promoting jazz in Egypt. He had a TV show dedicated to that genre but we all know that good things never last – he decided to cancel the show because whoever was in charge kept delaying the time the show was screened, until one day Yehya found it being aired at 4:30 in the morning! However, he decided to record new episodes after being approached by those in charge and this time he insists on choosing a proper airing time. One of his considerable achievements was… let Yehya himself tell you. “You mean organising the jazz festival? It was held at the Cairo Citadel and I got the Ministry of Culture, the Cairo Opera House and other institutions involved. The festival was extremely successful and featured bands from the States, Germany, Cuba, Ukraine and France, as well as renowned musicians from the UK and Italy. That was in 2010 and, although I wanted to make it an annual festival, I couldn't do much last year due to surgery I had which forced me to spend six months in the States. I'm planning to organise the festival again this autumn. “I've always wanted to do it since I came back to Egypt after spending many years in the States. I wanted the Cairo Opera House to be involved ever since I played with the legendary Dizzy Gillespie at its inauguration in 1988. It's been 50 years since I started spreading the jazz culture in Egypt through concerts as well as TV and radio shows.” Of course we had a debate – which is more influential, HIS jazz or MY rock? The end result wasn't very pleasant but I think I will be released from hospital soon. Yehya continued: “Jazz is the root of it all and in addition to introducing it to Egypt I also had another dream – coming up with a new genre called Egyptian jazz. I did and it became very popular. People appreciate it a lot wherever I perform. In addition to the Egyptian music I rearranged to suit the jazz style, I of course play my own compositions. I have played in countries that really have amazed me like Bulgaria. “Last month I took part in two jazz festivals – the Sohar festival in Oman and the other was ‘Music in the Air' in Nigeria, where I gave a workshop for 500 children between the ages of four and six. I told them about history, beats and of course this included demonstrations. The kids were so happy and impressed. Some of them had some questions too – they were interacting. I hope we will be able to do such things in Egypt soon. “I have also started the ‘Yehya Khalil Foundation for the Culture of Jazz Music.' The reason is to spread the culture of jazz through concerts and festivals as well as TV and radio programmes. We also do workshops and clinics to educate young people about the culture of jazz. We try to help talented young musicians to improve their skills.” Yehya will be going on a European tour of Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Then he will play in the States. But, before the tour, he will give a concert, the final one in a series he has chosen to name ‘The Revolution is On'. It will be held on Friday, June 1, in Cairo Opera House's Small Hall. I personally admire what this man has been doing and, despite all the obstacles, he is still working hard to promote jazz. As we say in show business “Break a leg Yehya!”
