Amar Ezzahi
Amar Ezzahi in 2015.
Born
Amar Ait-Zaï

1 January 1941
Ain El Hammam, Tizi Ouzou Province, Algeria
Died30 November 2016(2016-11-30) (aged 75)
Algiers, Algeria
Resting placeEl Kettar Cemetery
OccupationSinger

Amar Ezzahi (1 January 1941 – 30 November 2016) was an Algerian singer and mandole player. He was the figurehead of Chaabi, the traditional music of Algiers.

Early life

Amar Ezzahi was born as Amar Ait-Zaï in Ain El Hammam, a village of Kabylie, Algeria, on 1 January 1941.[1][2][3] He grew up in the Casbah of Algiers.[2][3] He was orphaned as a child.[1]

Career

Ezzahi was a singer and mandole player.[1] He started recording songs in 1963.[2][3] In 1976, he recorded two albums.[1] He only gave one concert, on 10 February 1987 in Algiers.[1] Instead, he performed in open spaces like cafes and terraces, mostly during family gatherings.[1] Moreover, he shunned the media and turned down copyright checks.[2] He was the figurehead of Chaabi, the traditional music of Algiers.[2]

Personal life and death

Ezzahi lived an ascetic life: he was not married, and had no children.[2][3]

Ezzahi died on 30 November 2016.[2][3] Upon his death, Azzedine Mihoubi, the Algerian Minister of Culture, visited his house to pay homage to him.[2][3] His funeral was held in a mosque the following day, 1 December, and he was buried in the El Kettar Cemetery.[2][3]

A celebration in honour of Ezzahi, with performances by Abdelkader Chaou and Kamel Aziz, was held at the Arab World Institute on 3 December 2016 in Paris, France.[1]

Some of his songs

- Zinouba
- Esmaa Nousik Ya Inssan
- EL Haraz
- Sali Trach
- El Djafi
- Yel Meknin Ezzine
- Yal Adra
- Aadrouni yahli

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Labesse, Patrick (December 2, 2016). "Le chanteur algérien Amar Ezzahi est mort". Le Monde. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Narduzzi, Guillaume (December 1, 2016). "Décès d'Amar Ezzahi, icône de la chanson populaire algéroise". Le Figaro. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Le chanteur algérois Amar Ezzahi s'est éteint". Le Parisien. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.


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