John Berberian and the Rock East Ensemble United States
Biography
One of the ‘classic’ albums that bridge classical Arab lute playing with rock music, and beyond, is this one, partly because of the involvement of Joe Beck and his fuzz guitar. He did the same for flamenco with Sabicas around 1966, adding electric guitar skills, grounded in blues and R&B, trying to open up one world and bridging with the other. Other members were Bill LaVorgna on drums and Peter Spargo and Harvey Cowen, not really knowing who was responsible for the groovy sax and mix of Arab/Middle eastern and rather jazz drumming.
