Amena El Abd
Following A Rainbow
by Howard Lawes
The importance of music in Egyptian society is one that has ebbed and flowed in response to changes in government and the impact of religious groups. While Egypt achieved a degree of independence from Britain and France in 1922, western influence continued, and western style music achieved considerable popularity. Growing nationalist sentiment and government sponsorship during the 20th century enhanced the popularity of Egyptian musical artists such as Sayed Darwish, Abdel Wahab and Umm Kulthum.
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The political climate of the 1950s led to the rejection of western popular culture, but jazz, with its ability to embrace local musical traditions and a history that includes marching bands, retained its audience to some degree. Salah Ragab, a military bandleader, popularised jazz by creating the Cairo Jazz Band that began performing in 1969. Egyptians have always enjoyed street bands such as the Hasaballah Band but perhaps renewed interest in jazz had been sparked by a visit to Egypt by Louis Armstrong in 1961. In more recent times the Cairo Jazz Club and Cairo Jazz Festival testify to the existence of a relatively small but dedicated group of jazz fans in Egypt.
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Here is a video of Amena singing Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight at the Cairo Jazz Festival in 2020:
Amena el Abd grew up in a non-musical family in Cairo. As a young girl opportunities for her to hear music were few and far between. Amena enjoyed singing but shyness prevented her from doing so other than on her own. She trained her voice by repeating the calls to prayer that ring out from mosques all over Islamic countries. The calls use a system of melodic modes called 'maqam' that also forms the basis of much traditional Arabic music. Having done well at junior school Amena was sent to a French school in Cairo and it was here that she was able to learn western style music and sing. One year, the school produced a musical play set in ancient Egypt and Amena was chosen to sing a solo. Her parents came to see the show and for the first time Amena performed in front of them. To Amena’s huge relief and delight, her parents loved her singing and decided to enrol her into a small music academy in Cairo.
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The musical academy taught Amena music theory and musical theatre, a genre that is inevitably dominated by Broadway shows from New York and from the West End of London. She came to love the songs of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Frank Sinatra. Her parents were pleased with her progress but also did not want her to lose touch with the musical traditions of Egypt and to this end, Amena also joined an Arabic music club, performing traditional songs with the club ensemble. Graduating from the music academy Amena went on to the American University in Cairo, but on her parents’ advice enrolled on a course studying Visual Arts. It was reasoned that Amena would find employment in the arts sector far more easily as a designer than as a female jazz singer in a country where female singers can face problems of acceptability. However, the course was not to her liking and Amena became increasingly unhappy; finally, her parents relented and supported her application to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, which was successful.
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Coming to the UK and having to fend for herself in a huge city was quite an ordeal for the shy Amena, and she found it very scary. However, Guildhall has welcomed students from overseas for many years and it wasn’t to long before Amena settled into student life, made friends and enjoyed the excellent tuition that Guildhall has to offer. During her final year at Guildhall Amena perfomed at the Rich Mix venue as part of the Awan Festival and the Grand Junction venue as part of the 2024 EFG London Jazz Festival. Both these gigs were promoted by Arts Canteen, an organisation that promotes artists and music from the Arab world in London.
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Here is a video of Amena singing Zaha at the London Jazz Festival:
The New Arab online journal featured a story about Amena, describing how she decided to become a jazz singer, how in London she has been able to practice with so many other young musicians and how the single Baad el Harb (After the War), featuring Amena, was released in 2024. Amena also provided the vocals on a video, Baad el Harb - بعد الØرب - (After the War), a collaborative production with different artists in support of the Palestinian cause.​
Her graduation gig took place at the Guildhall Music Room in Silk Street on 27th June 2025 in front of an enthusiatic audience. In her band was Ziad Hisham on guitar, Konstatinos Glynos on kanun, Ovidiu Antonovich on piano and keyboard, Julian Woods on double bass and Anmol Mohara on drums. Her programme fused jazz with Arabic music by traditional and modern composers including her own song, Nas, jointly composed with Zaki Hutchings. She also sang the song Luiza by Antonio Carlos Jobim, one of her favourite composers. Amena looked fabulous on stage, without a trace of shyness and led her band in fine style. She had promised herself that this gig would her best performance, celebrating her time at Guildhall which has been so inspirational. For us in the audience it seemed like her wish came true, a lovely performance from a very talented young jazz singer.
With her student visa Amena can remain in the UK for a few more months and is looking forward to performing again as she did in London in 2024. In the longer term she hopes to establish a career as a jazz singer; her plan is very much along the lines of the famous song “follow every rainbow till you find your dream”.
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Amena will be appearing at The Pheasantry, Chelsea on 20th August from 18:30 p.m. Details here.
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