Improvising to the sound of slamming door

BEIRUT: Jazz may not be the first genre that comes to mind when eavesdropping on Beirut's music scene. An evening stuck in traffic adjacent the city's multitude of night spots suggests the standard fare ranges from traditional Middle Eastern melodies - from divas like Fairuz and Umm Kulthoum to pop tarts like Haifa Wehbe - to the Western pop, rap and electronica preferred by some younger folk. That said, if you've strolled through popular quarters like Hamra or Gemayzeh over the last few months, you may have heard the sound of upbeat, sonorous jazz rhythms percolating from venues like the Zawaya and Blue Note cafes or BarLouie. If so, Beirut Be Bop! may be to blame. The most-recent addition to the city's venerable tradition of hybrid jazz ensembles, this laidback group has been a mutable musical feast since it first saw the... [read full story]