By Michael Hodock, The Paper. – Rahim AlHaj has sold millions of records throughout his career and raised millions of dollars to aid women and children living in countries from Iraq to the United States. But to describe the two-time Grammy-nominated musician and composer as a philanthropist or even a virtuoso fails to fully break down his relationship with music, especially after meeting him in person. He greeted me before our interview with a hug as I went in for a handshake, and maybe it was because he had a cigarette in his hand – I noticed the brand he smokes is “Native” – but maybe it’s because he’s contagiously happy when he shoots the breeze about music. And life.
“I’m in heaven, man. I have wonderful friends, and I have a beautiful house. I have a wonderful wife. I mean, I have this [ABQ] Sunport here,” he says. “Everybody knows who I am because I travel a lot, and I’m proud to be New Mexican. And I’m Middle Eastern too. We value friendship more than family, by the way.”
He says when people ask him if he identifies as an American, he’s sure to tell them he’s New Mexican, which is an important distinction to AlHaj. In fact, it’s how he “requires” his name to appear on the program or bill at his concerts: “Rahim AlHaj, New Mexico.”
On Saturday, August 29 at St. John’s United Methodist Church (2626 Arizona Street NE) AlHaj and a few friends from some of Albuquerque’s most established ensembles – and at least one young up-and-coming cello prodigy – welcome everyone in town to join them for a free concert, optimistically titled One Sky. Since our headliner is known for his charity work, donations are definitely encouraged ,because the money will go to The Rahim AlHaj Scholarship Awards, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting future composers ages 13 to 18. In fact, AlHaj says the ultimate goal of the program is to pay for the awardees’ entire music degree program.
A Long, Strange Trip
AlHaj’s story hasn’t always been as sunny as his disposition. In the early ’90s, his mother sold almost everything she had to raise money for her son to leave Iraq. And AlHaj did leave Iraq, moving initially to Jordan and then Syria, where he met and married his wife Nada Kherbik. The couple moved to Albuquerque in 2000 and have been married over 30 years. He says she’s the most beautiful person in his life and calls her his “biggest accomplishment.”
“I escaped Iraq to Jordan with a false travel document – a passport. My mom bribed this guy for a million dinar, which was equal to like $25,000 at that time,” he says. “I took my oud and several books, and I went to Jordan – and this the most excruciating moment in my entire life – I crossed the border, and they confiscated my oud from me.”
He had been playing that oud since he was 9. Needless to say, he got a new one, and has become known worldwide by playing and composing using that instrument.
“They call [the oud] the grandfather of all the string instruments. It’s [from] 5,000 years ago. If you think of the European lute, guitar, banjo – all of those things basically came from that,” he says.
After coming to Albuquerque with 60 bucks to his name – which he quickly blew through buying cigarettes – he made his first record using a credit card with a $2,000 limit, got it mastered for free and sold 28,000 copies. He says he used to rent out Keller Hall at UNM and advertise in The Alibi in those days. In 2005 he released one of the first records ever composed by an oudist for string quartet, and the project featured the Sadaqa Quartet – an Albuquerque-based group of musicians including first violinist David Felberg, second violinist and UNM Professor Carmelo de Los Santos, cellist Catherine Jean Harlow and Jason Parris on viola. It was appropriately titled Friendship.
By 2009, when he released Under the Rose in collaboration with Ottmar Liebert, Barrett Martin and Jon Gaganhis, his albums were selling over a million copies. And he says he donated all the money he made from that record to a charity providing aid to children in Iraq. AlHaj has been all over the world, so you might wonder what keeps him in New Mexico, besides the best food and sunsets on Earth, of course. He says it was a 6 or 7-year-old kid attending one of his performances.
“He came to the green room at Keller Hall, and he’s holding my program with my picture in it, and he was crying. I said in bad English, ‘You don’t like my music, do you?’ He said, ‘No, I loved your music, but I need your autograph.’ I said, ‘Holy shit! If this little boy understood what I’m talking about – the struggle of refugees and women and war and destruction – I’m gonna make a huge difference. I’m gonna stay.”
AlHaj has been here ever since.
In Concert With
At this coming weekend’s One Sky: A Benefit for the Rahim AlHaj Scholarship Awards, the headliner will be joined by Little Earth Orchestra, Latin music group Nosotros, pianist Amy Greer and Flamenco guitarist Juani de la Isla accompanied by dancer Carmen “La Chispa” Montes. Fittingly, AlHaj also invited 13-year-old Evan Daitz to perform, who has been playing his cello since he was 4. AlHaj says formal education gives a musician “a map of how to organize yourself as an artist.” So dig deep, the future of Albuquerque’s music scene might depend on it. Admission is free, but donations are heartily encouraged. It all goes to good cause: the musicians of tomorrow.
“I play the best oud on the planet because I practice six to eight hours a day. That’s my fulltime job,” says AlHaj. “If you don’t have that kind of discipline, you will never be a musician. You [might] know how to craft. You know how to play the guitar. You can play the violin, but it doesn’t make you an artist. An artist’s shoes are different. Your socks are different. Your clothes are different. Your walk is different. Your point of view is different.”
If you go…
ONE SKY: A Benefit for the Rahim AlHaj Scholarship Awards
- Saturday 8/29, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
- St. John’s United Methodist Church
- 2626 Arizona St. NE