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Cairo Jazz Club
By
Juergen Stryjak
 Whenever I
walk or drive through Cairo, I like to listen to the sounds
of the city, especially by night. The blaring car horns, the
roaring traffic, the laughter of the evening strollers, the
music flowing out from passing cars or from the open windows
and shops – all of that combines to make the symphony of
the metropolis. Most of all, I love to take endless trips,
by taxi, around the city, at midnight or later, from one end
to the other and back, while listening to whatever the tape
deck has to offer, Umm Kulthum, the old Arabic diva
legend, modern Egyptian sh’aabi pop, sometimes
classical music or even jazz.
 I don’t have a preference for any one of these styles.
Arabic or Western, classical or jazz, any kind of intense
background music works well with this shining, glittering,
glimmering city. Sometimes I think, it would need only an
occasional rain shower, turning the scene into an
impressionist painting, and the poetic atmosphere would be
perfect.
A good place to crown such nocturnal trips is to stop off
at the Cairo Jazz Club. Now and then, other places offer
jazz concerts, for example the Opera House or Harry’s Pub
at the Marriott Hotel, but the Cairo Jazz Club is the only
real one in town, with nightly shows. Its program
varies every day, isn’t limited to jazz performances only
and is, in genera, a venue for the city’s live music
scene.
Without a doubt, the week’s highlight is the show of
the Jazz Hounds, described as Cairo’s best local jazz
band, currently performing every Wednesday. They mix
Egyptian, Irish, Indian or North-African music with the
sound of America’s Deep South. The British-Egyptian Mika
Sabet is the lead singer and songwriter of the Jazz Hounds,
son of the owner of the local label Sonar records. Beside
this, he works for other musicians and produces their studio
recordings, including the latest album by the famous
European dance floor icon, Natacha Atlas, a British singer
with Egyptian roots.
 All other
nights the Cairo Jazz Club offers a wide range of different
styles, from Reggae to Nubian music, North-African Raï or
classical jazz. For my taste, the interior design is a
little too black, too heavy with its robust saloon
furniture, but the music will definitely help you to get
over the cool atmosphere.
Cairo Jazz Club. 197, 26th of July Street,
Mohandessin, Giza, opposite of the Balloon Theatre.
Telephone: 3459939. e-mail: cairojazzclub@usa.net. Admission
free, mostly, if not, then the cover fee includes two free
drinks. Prices: Beer from LE 12 up ($ 3.25), Egyptian wine
LE 58 per bottle ($ 15.70), Vodka-Orange LE 16 ($ 4.30).
Open daily from 7:00
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