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Groove Goes the Distance: An Initial Inquiry into Jazz Music in Egypt
Jazz music has been a historically contentious site of social, cultural, and political signification. From the violent subjugation that characterized its origins and aspirational freedom that animated its practice, to its transformation into a distinctly “American” music instrumentalized by the US S...
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AUC Knowledge Fountain
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613433844727808 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Gohar, Farida |
| author_browse | Gohar, Farida |
| author_facet | Gohar, Farida |
| author_sort | Gohar, Farida |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Jazz music has been a historically contentious site of social, cultural, and political signification. From the violent subjugation that characterized its origins and aspirational freedom that animated its practice, to its transformation into a distinctly “American” music instrumentalized by the US State Department to counter Soviet influence, jazz’s capacity for the inscription of meaning is vast and regularly cause for debate. The particular configuration of jazz music in Egypt is no less complicated although seldom studied. This thesis ventures an initial mapping of the dynamics and negotiations that historically defined the initiation of “Egyptian” jazz, as well as the ones that characterize the contemporary Egyptian jazz scene. By taking as its subject three influential figures of Egyptian jazz music– Rashad Fahim, Salah Ragab, and Amro Salah, it offers a critical narration and analysis of their personal histories and jazz-related discursive sensibilities. What emerges in the process is a complex portrait of jazz music in Egypt, one that, above all else, can be characterized by a lacking sense of situated identity. Referencing archival material, one-on-one interviews, and fieldwork at the Cairo Jazz Festival, this thesis marks the first substantive step towards a critical study of jazz music in Egypt and offers substantial material for further research. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3753 |
| institution | American University in Cairo (Egypt) |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:36:04.810Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| publisherStr | AUC Knowledge Fountain |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress |
| spelling | oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3753 Groove Goes the Distance: An Initial Inquiry into Jazz Music in Egypt Gohar, Farida Jazz music has been a historically contentious site of social, cultural, and political signification. From the violent subjugation that characterized its origins and aspirational freedom that animated its practice, to its transformation into a distinctly “American” music instrumentalized by the US State Department to counter Soviet influence, jazz’s capacity for the inscription of meaning is vast and regularly cause for debate. The particular configuration of jazz music in Egypt is no less complicated although seldom studied. This thesis ventures an initial mapping of the dynamics and negotiations that historically defined the initiation of “Egyptian” jazz, as well as the ones that characterize the contemporary Egyptian jazz scene. By taking as its subject three influential figures of Egyptian jazz music– Rashad Fahim, Salah Ragab, and Amro Salah, it offers a critical narration and analysis of their personal histories and jazz-related discursive sensibilities. What emerges in the process is a complex portrait of jazz music in Egypt, one that, above all else, can be characterized by a lacking sense of situated identity. Referencing archival material, one-on-one interviews, and fieldwork at the Cairo Jazz Festival, this thesis marks the first substantive step towards a critical study of jazz music in Egypt and offers substantial material for further research. 2026-02-15T08:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2694 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3753/viewcontent/farida_gohar_nabil_thesis.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain jazz Egyptian jazz music ethnomusicology postcoloniality Salah Ragab Cairo Jazz Festival Ethnomusicology Oral History Other History Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Social and Cultural Anthropology |
| spellingShingle | jazz Egyptian jazz music ethnomusicology postcoloniality Salah Ragab Cairo Jazz Festival Ethnomusicology Oral History Other History Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Social and Cultural Anthropology Gohar, Farida Groove Goes the Distance: An Initial Inquiry into Jazz Music in Egypt |
| title | Groove Goes the Distance: An Initial Inquiry into Jazz Music in Egypt |
| title_full | Groove Goes the Distance: An Initial Inquiry into Jazz Music in Egypt |
| title_fullStr | Groove Goes the Distance: An Initial Inquiry into Jazz Music in Egypt |
| title_full_unstemmed | Groove Goes the Distance: An Initial Inquiry into Jazz Music in Egypt |
| title_short | Groove Goes the Distance: An Initial Inquiry into Jazz Music in Egypt |
| title_sort | groove goes the distance an initial inquiry into jazz music in egypt |
| topic | jazz Egyptian jazz music ethnomusicology postcoloniality Salah Ragab Cairo Jazz Festival Ethnomusicology Oral History Other History Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Social and Cultural Anthropology |
| url | https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2694 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3753/viewcontent/farida_gohar_nabil_thesis.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT goharfarida groovegoesthedistanceaninitialinquiryintojazzmusicinegypt |