Hamza El Din

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Hamza El Din (b. Toshka, Egypt, July 10, 1929 - d. Berkeley, California, May 22, 2006), was a Nubian oud player, tar player, and vocalist. Born in the village of Toshka, near Wadi Halfa, he is considered by some to have been the father of modern Nubian music. Originally trained to be an electrical engineer, El Din changed direction and began to study music at the Cairo University, continuing his studies at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. His performances attracted the attention of the Grateful Dead, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan in the 1960s, which led to a recording contract and to his eventual emigration to the United States. Like much of Egyptian Nubia, his home village of Toshka was flooded due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s, creating in El Din a drive to preserve and promote his culture.

His 1968 recording Escalay: The Water Wheel is recognized as one of the first world music recordings to gain wide release in the West, and was claimed as an influence by some American minimalist composers, such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley.[1] He performed with the Kronos Quartet.

El Din held a number of teaching positions in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, eventually settling in the San Francisco Bay Area. He died on Monday, May 22, 2006, at the age of 76, after complications following surgery for a gallbladder infection at a hospital in Berkeley, California. He is survived by his wife, Nabra.