In 2006, the upright jazz bassist Elie Afif flew to Dubai to meet up with Rony, one of his five brothers. Originally based in Beirut, the musician had seen his gigs dry up because of the war and his drummer brother was just a few hours' flight away.
"My only option was to come here," he says. "I didn't have anything else - I came here and I didn't know what was going to happen."
But Elie quickly found his footing, playing with Rony in The Afif Brothers Quartet. They've played at numerous venues in the UAE, with regular slots at Novotel World Trade Centre's Blue Bar.
Now the talented jazz musician has recorded his first album, Giant Steps to Heaven, set to launch tonight.
Elie has been playing music with Rony since they were children, taking up the guitar at the age of 10 and switching to bass a year later. Fast forward to age 16, and Elie adopted the upright bass, but didn't give up the electric bass altogether.
Early on, Elie imitated basslines from records he owned, including tunes from artists such as Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report and Joni Mitchell.
Leaving school at 14, Elie found he had to fend for himself. "My father refused to give me money," he says, laughing.
So Elie found work as a mechanic and carpenter. "I worked to save money, to pay my [music] teacher US$20 (Dh73.44) a week. It was all for the music and I was sure I didn't want anything but the music," he says.
Having had this experience as a young man, Elie would now like to play a greater part in music education, hosting jazz workshops and lessons in schools. "My target is education - I love to talk about what I love and share it with others," he says.
Elie won a scholarship to attend the Prins Claus Conservatorium in Holland in 2007, attending several masterclasses by the bee-bop jazz pianist Barry Harris. He still travels to Rome twice a year to take part in lessons from Harris, now 82.
Giant Steps to Heaven took just one month to record as the material was already written by Afif himself. "I was just waiting for the right moment and the right musicians. Luckily I found the right guys," he says.
Elie currently plays every night at the Burj Al Arab Hotel, but says he also enjoys playing at the arts venue The Fridge, which is supporting the release.
"It's nice, it's simple and you get people listening and not talking," he says of the venue's attentive audience.
If there is another city where Elie would like to perform, it's New York. He is currently saving money for a visa, which is a "bit difficult", being Lebanese. "I'm sure if I'm there I'll get a completely different energy. I would love to go, but if I can't, I can't. I will still be a jazz player," he says.
"I just hope I make some noise and more people get to know me."
The Giant Steps to Heaven album launch will be held tonight at 7pm at the Media One Hotel's M-Deck in Dubai Media City. Read Tuesday's edition of Arts&Life for Gemma Champ's review of the album.
artslife@thenational.ae
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
Company%20profile
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The%20Color%20Purple
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBlitz%20Bazawule%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFantasia%20Barrino%2C%20Taraji%20P%20Henson%2C%20Danielle%20Brooks%2C%20Colman%20Domingo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
