Gus Vali - Belly Dance Navel Academy (Peters International, 1972)

Despite its bargain-label appearance and woeful pun for a title, this ranks among my favorite Middle Eastern LPs in the Record Fiend archives. Unfortunately, the minimal liner notes are extremely uninformative, so most of the first-rate musicians on Belly Dance Navel Academy are a mystery. The instrumentation is typical for the genre: oud, kanun (harp), violin, dumbeg (hand drums), bass, clarinet, saxophone, and dudoog (recorder) in various combinations. The back of the album does list Gus Vali as the conductor and co-producer, and it is possible that he plays the woodwinds as well. The other co-producer is Chet Amsterdam, a somewhat mysterious figure who played bass on John Berberian's Music of the Middle East and Middle Eastern Rock LPs, and it is logical to assume that he does the same here. A reliable source indicates that George Mgrdichian plays oud on the proceedings, and if true, he puts down some truly hot licks on several of the tracks.

Since it is an all-instrumental album, there is no need to worry about translating difficult Armenian, Turkish, or Arabic lyrics. This is a hot session, so the pieces maintain a high standard throughout the album, and most are up-tempo performances intended to keep the belly dancers out on the floor doing their thing. However, there are some slower, more sensual numbers, such as "Ahyazain," "Taxim," "Byr Demet Yasemen," and "Taxim Bassclaro" that balance the overall mood of the LP. "Port Said" and "Siseler" are outstanding takes on belly dance standards, while "Savgulum," "Kashlarin Ingee Ingee," "Semra Semra," "Farfara," and "Rahks Taxim" all feature scorching oud leads.

1. Navel Academy Theme.
2. Savgulum
3. Sauda Sauda
4. Kashlarin Ingee Ingee
5. Ahyazain
6. Port Said
7. Taxim
8. Semra Semra
9. Sesame
10. Farfara
11. Siseler
12. Byr Demet Yasemen
13. Rahks Taxim
14. Taxim Bassclaro