A prominent figure on today’s jazz scene in Egypt, Amro Salah is founder and leading member of the band Eftekasat (translates as “innovations”), as well as of the Cairo Jazz Festival.Eftekasat’s performances are a strong manifesto of the creed that music has the gift to bring people together and to build bridges of trust. The band draws upon Egyptian folklore to embrace other ethno influences and to recreate them in jazz fusion mode. Its music is at the same time authentic local and global – and this is how Egyptian traditions and culture are brought up to universal level. Eftekasat won the Culture Resource Production Award in 2005 and the Arab Fund for Culture and Arts Award in 2009. The band has taken the stage at various festivals in Egypt, Tunis, the USA, Jordan, Algeria, and twice in Bulgaria – at the Bansko Jazz Festival in 2004 and 2008.Amro Salah established the Cairo Jazz Festival in 2009 through his company Agua Productions. With its concerts, workshops and master classes, the festival aims at crossing cultural barriers within the Egyptian society while encouraging and improving musical education for children and families. Bulgarian art has been presented by Theodosii Spassov.
You can listen to Svetoslav Nikolov’s interview with Amro Salah here.
