Last year saw the release of Haneen by Oxford-based, Arabic jazz ensemble Brickwork Lizards. In his review of their album Folk Radio’s Phil Vanderyken was taken by their flair for cabaret and drama, crafting a patchwork of sounds and styles into something uniquely their own which dazzles, intrigues and entertains…multi-cultural pop for the world of tomorrow. The album was widely championed in print, online and on the radio, receiving airplay and enthusiastic responses on BBC 6Music from heroes such as Don Letts and Tom Robinson.
The band toured across the UK to rapturous audiences up and down the country throughout 2018 and you now have the opportunity of experiencing part of their live set. Next month they are releasing a live EP – Live at St Giles features 4 brand new tracks, recorded live by the band at the prestigious Jazz at St Giles showcase in Oxford.
Taken from the EP, here they are performing Nikriz Longa (our Tune of the Day), an instrumental written at the turn of the 20th century by the prolific Ottoman composer Tanburi Cemil Bey. It plays out like a cinematic soundtrack opening to a sway-along jazzy pre-war vibe, dipping into an irresistible eastern psychedelic groove interspersed by an experimental dreamy mid-section before heading back to the dancefloor for the final stretch and a playful finale.
In 2018 the band’s vocalist and musician Tarik Beshir was invited to work as a musical consultant for Disney’s forthcoming reboot of Aladdin, and some of the Brickwork Lizards, including Tarik, have performed in the film as the Sultan’s palace band. Meanwhile, the band is working on a new musical adaptation of 11th Century Persian lyric poem The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and gearing up for a packed gig diary, with live dates supporting the EP release across the UK in June 2019.
Live at St Giles by Brickwork Lizards, performed by:
Tarik Beshir – vocals + oud
Louisa Lyne – cello
Andrew Mack – percussion + vocals
Tom O’Hawk – vocals
Malachy O’Neill – double bass
Stephen Preston – trumpet + piano
Eric Samothrakis – percussion
Jules Smith – violin
Spencer Williams – guitar + vocals