Cheikh El Afrit

Cheikh El Afrit الشيخ العفريت His First Nickname EL SHEIKH Ivrit Born In Tunis In 1884 A Moroccan Father And A Mother Tripoli Was Not A Happy Childhood His Father Had Gone To Morocco Leaving Him And His Six Brothers And Sisters With A Mother Without Resources. The Poverty Of His Family Forced Him To Work Very Hard From An Early Age. He Served For A Time The Profession Of Pastry Chef At Sidi Bouadid And He Later Became Smasher Coffee. Pressing His Heavy Pestle He Sang All That Came To Mind. One Day A Music Lover Heard. Impressed By The Power Of His Voice He Advised Him To Get Into The Song. At Eighteen He Began His Career. Success Came Quickly Because Of The Novelty Of The Directory That Borrowed From His Mother. It Knew An Infinite Number Of Popular Works Of Libyan Heritage. Soon He Was Approached By Record Companies Who Ensured Its Popularity Throughout The Maghreb. He Became The Host Of Tuesday Evenings Preferred That The Bey Gave In His Palace At Hammam-Lif. The Radio And The Disc Made This Extraordinary Voice Was Spread Throughout The Arab World The Maghreb. He Was Married In 1919 And Had Eight Children. His Second Son As He Could Embrace An Artistic Career But He Died At The Age Of Twenty-One Years. Unable To Write It's One Of His Daughters Who Helped To Transcribe His Songs Helping To Improve His Piano Compositions. He Could Play Any Instrument. Born In The Jewish Quarter Of Tunis His Father Sallem Rozio Is Of Moroccan Origin - He Comes From The Village Of Mghira Near Agadir - And His Mother Story Khalfon Is Of Libyan Origin 1 . When His Father Returned To Morocco His Mother Remained In Tunis With The Additional Burden Of Two Boys And A Girl From Two Previous Marriages . Back In Tunis His Father Wanted To Bring His Son Back To Morocco But The Latter Who Was Then Five Years Old Preferred To Stay With His Mother In Need 1 . Never Attending School 1 It Sells Pastries In Honey Produced By His Mother 1 Through The Alleys Of The Jewish Quarter To Help Feed His Family While The Lean Nest Egg That Brings Hardly Enough 2 . Also Praises He His Arms Like Other Children To Grind Coffee To The Pestle Of Wood In A Small Factory Roasting 1 2 . Thanks To His Mother He Learned To Sing And Then Took Part In The Choirs Of Synagogues 1 . Former Jewish Artists Shared Their Knowledge With Him Which Enabled The Young Issim To Perform In Public And Private Concerts And Galas Where He Was Successful In Particular Thanks To His Interpretation Of Tunisian Songs With Naughty Lyrics 1 . To Give His Heart To The Book In His Workplace He Hums Melodies And His Voice Commands The Admiration Of His Companions 1 Who Affectionately Nickname Him El Afrit "The Demon" 2 Not In The Evil Sense Of The Term But In That Of Excellence In Its Field In Other Words "The Genius" A Word That Comes From Jinn Which Is A Synonym Of Afrit . At The Age Of Twenty He Decided To Embark On An Artistic Career And Received The Qualifier Of Sheikh Meaning In Musical Jargon "the One Who Holds Knowledge" And Which Is Awarded To Any Emeritus Singer 3 . If He Appreciates The Incantatory And Haunting Tone Of The Malouf He Does Not Dislike Taking Up Some Light Songs In Fashion Delighting His Audience During The Many Weddings And Galas He Hosts He Sings About Life And Thwarted Passions Forging Images That Are Evocative And Full Of Melancholy 4 . From The Outset The Public Adopts This Singer With Pronounced Myopia And Dressed In A Dark Costume And A Tarbouche Riveted To His Head Singing Seated As Tradition Dictates And Bringing His Hand To His Right Ear 4 . Cheikh El Afrit Only Performs With His Own Troupe Composed Of Albert Abitbol Violin Messaoud Habib Organ Maurice Benais Oud El Malih Darbouka And Abramino Kanoun 4 . Solicited Across The Country The Singer Also Performs Abroad Especially In Algeria Where He Makes Frequent Stays 1 4 . He Also Goes To Paris To Record Twenty Tunisian Songs 1 And Meets The Egyptian Jewish Singer Zaki Mourad Father Of The Great Singer Leila Mourad During A Concert By The Latter In Tunis 1. The Enticing Promises Of Record Companies And His Voice Spread His Popularity But It Was Undoubtedly The Singer-Songwriter Acher Mizrahi Who Composed His Greatest Success Tasfar We Titgharrab Travel And You Will Know The Taste Of Exile 4 . Departure Thwarted Passions And Wandering Remain His Favorite Themes 4 . Another Recognition Cheikh El Afrit Occurs Every Tuesday At The Bardo Palace At The Request Of Ahmed II Bey Who Has Him Picked Up By Coach 4 . His Most Famous Successes Have For Title 5 Fich Chat'it Oum She Bathes In The Sea Ya Hasra Kîf Kunt Sghîra How Much I Regret My Beautiful Youth Hiz Ehzâmik T'h Yi Tkhabbil Tighten Your Belt Tightly It Is Also Panicked El 'ayyâm Kif Er-Rîh Fil Berrîma The Days Pass Like The Wind In The Rattles Anâ Targui I Am A Tuareg Yâ Marhabâ Bi Ouled Sîdi Welcome To My Master's Sons Yâ Fatma Bad El-Nakad We-L-Ghussa O Fatma After So Many Misunderstandings And Anguish .
He Died On July 2 1939at Ariana Hospital Following Bronchitis 5 . Buried In The Borgel Cemetery In Tunis He Left An Eclectic Repertoire Of 480 Songs Which Made Him One Of The Greatest Interpreters Of Tunisian Music read less