It may look like a lute with its neck bent at a right angle, but from the moment the oud makes a sound, it carries the listener’s ear to the Middle East. Elizabeth Ayoub lives in America now, but could hardly bear the pain as her family’s home in Southern Lebanon was reduced to rubble under the recent Israeli bombardment. Her song ‘Ya Oud’ was already recorded by then, but now carries more even meaning than she could have imagined when she wrote it. Elizabeth’s debut album Prelude displays an impressive versatility, with songs in French, Spanish and English in addition to this one, sung in Arabic.

‘Mahmouna’ by Nass El Ghiwane is the majestic opening track on the double CD whose title A Night in Marrakesh is slightly misleading, as the music is drawn from all of Morocco. Compiled by Phil Meadley, CD Two is modern dance music for playing in clubs and parties, while CD One features more traditional performances, typified by this one from the group that was founded more than twenty five years ago to revive and keep alive the raw music of North Africa.

Not so long ago, it was hard to find CD compilations of the great music recorded in the 50s, 60s & 70s in both Congos. But earlier this year, the 2CD set Golden Afrique Vol 2 unearthed a wealth of treasures and now African Pearls 1: Congo - Rumba on the River brings us another batch, also on two CDs, with hardly any overlaps. Recorded in 1959, ‘Kelya’ features 19-year-old Rochereau, who had already written songs for African Jazz but this time was allowed to sing his own composition. Docteur Nico plays the clear-as-a-bell guitar and we think that the saxophone player must be Essous. Originally from Brazzaville, Essous soon afterwards went back across the river to co-found Les Bantous de la Capitale.

Ever since Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan died in 1997, there have been countless claims on behalf of singers said to be ‘the next Nusrat’. It’s a futile quest, as there will only ever be one. But there is another great qawali star in Pakistan, the female singer Abida Parveen and I’m expecting (and hoping) to get requests to play this song by her again

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