Hejira

Middle East Meets West: The Music of Hejira

Jeremy Richards
07/18/2009

Most American and European music is based on a familiar scale — the Doh, Ray, Me, Fah, Soh, La, Ti, Doh you learned to sing about in "The Sound of Music." But in a lot of Middle Eastern Music, you'll hear the Arabic minor scale. This sound has beguiled Don Baragiano for decades, and he loves experimenting with Western blues, jazz, pop and Middle Eastern sounds. Don is the founder, leader, and guitarist for the world music group Hejira, based in Seattle. They now play all over the Northwest. But until Don moved to Seattle, he struggled to find the audience and community for his music. Don tells KUOW's Jeremy Richards how Western and Middle Eastern sounds collided when he traveled to Saudi Arabia and met with the king's master musician.