Scott’s guest is oud master and composer Rahim Al-Haj. A native of Baghdad, Al-Haj started on the oud at age 9 eventually studying under and touring with the renowned Munir Bashir, whom many consider the best to ever play the oud, and Salim Abdul Kareem at the Institute of Music in Baghdad, Iraq. After the Gulf War in 1991 Al-Haj, an anti-Saddam Hussein activist, fled Iraq. He has lived in Albuquerque NM since 2000 and became a U.S. citizen in 2008. His songs use traditional Iraqi maqams along with contemporary stylings while strongly reflecting the traditional Iraqi school of oud.

Backstage Atlanta - Rahim Al-Haj