Zein L'Abdin

about

Zein l'Abdin (1939 - 27 July, 2016) was a Kenyan taarab singer, oud player, multi-instrumentalist, poet, composer and bandleader of Zein Musical Party. Zein l’Abdin Ahmed Alamoody was born in 1939 on the Island of Lamu on the northern Kenya coast. From the late 1960s onwards Zein became something like the musical father of the Mombasa taarab scene, with all of today's famous musicians, at one point or another in their career, passing through Zein's group. The Zein Musical Party thus featured the voices of Maulidi, Zuhura Swaleh and Malika, Mohamed Mbwana's harmonium or organ, or Bakari Salim's accordion. Zein's groups in the 1980s - in typical Mombasa taarab style - branched out to include violin, accordion, keyboard, bass guitar and a percussion section. He has since moved back to basics, and a more classical approach in the old Lamu Tradition. —————- Renowned Kenyan singer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, composer and bandleader Zein l’Abdin Ahmed Alamoody was a valuable repository of cultural knowledge. Referred to locally with the honorific Ustadh, Zein was a central figure in the genre of sung Swahili poetry known as taarab for more than six decades. He passed away on the morning of 27 June 2016 at his home in the Old Town neighborhood of Mombasa, Kenya. The Arabic (kiarabu) style of taarab that Zein cultivated since the 1970s drew from earlier creative adaptations of Arab music throughout the history of the genre, including the work of the legendary Zanzibari taarab arti

top songs

albums

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Zanzibara 2 - 1965-1975 - Golden Years of Mombasa Taarab

The Swahili Songbook

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Zanzibara • L'âge D'or Du Taarab De Mombassa 1965-1975

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Zanzibara 2, Golden Years of Mombasa taarab music in Zanziba

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The Swahili Song Book

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The Swahili Song Songbook

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Zanzibara 2: Golden Years of Mombasa Taarab (1965-1975)

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Zanzibara Vol. 1: Golden Years of Mombassa Taarab

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Zanzibara: L'âge d'or du taarab de Mombassa (1965-1975)

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Zanzibara 2

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Zanzibara 2 - 1965-1975/Golden Years of Mombasa Taarab

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