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Zein Al-Jundi: Coming Full Circle

Written by Chris Humphrey

Al-Jundi, all grown up in Austin

Her true calling, almost forever left behind in Syria.

At the age of 13, Zein Al-Jundi was a featured soloist at the opening gala for the newly renovated Roman amphitheater in the ancient Middle Eastern city of Bosra. Yet it would be decades later before even her own Austin-born teenaged children came to know their mother had once been a child star in her native Syria.

When Al-Jundi took the stage Friday at La Zona Rosa (a concert promoted by Putumayo World Music), no one in the packed house could guess the international recording artist—who almost single-handedly spawned a vibrant Arabic culture scene in Austin—at one point gave up singing forever, keeping her talents a secret from her friends and family.

Al-Jundi the Syrian child star

A professional performer since the age of five, Al-Jundi put her music away in order to pursue her more practical dream of becoming an architect. That dream brought her to the University of Texas in 1982, and she has lived in Austin ever since. But one rainy afternoon in April of 1996—the day after submitting her proposal for the final project to finish her Master’s degree—a serious car accident changed everything.

Life threatening situations have a way of making us re-evaluate our lives and priorities; immobility gave Al-Jundi ample opportunity to identify something that had been missing for too long—music and dance. Chronic pain made it impossible to sit, stand, walk, or even sleep comfortably. Many sleepless nights she would get out of bed, dress in her most flamboyant party clothes, apply full makeup, and put her beloved music on the CD player. Then she would dance as best she could.

As she tapped into the healing power of music, Al-Jundi understood she could not live without it any more. “What got me through was doing what little I could that brought me joy, and sharing it with other people,” Al-Jundi recalls. “I lived in a world that was three quarters pain and depression, and I clung to the one quarter that was music.”

She started a show at KOOP radio, “Dance Around the World.” Before long she was bringing world music acts to Austin, and formed her own booking agency, World Music and Dance Productions (WMD). Her health finally restored, she began WMD Fitness that, in turn, evolved into belly dance classes.

Third-grade Al-Jundi singing w/ Syrian government orchestra and TV station

Al-Jundi singing on Syrian TV (1970)

And, perhaps most importantly, she finally began to share her secret. She began to tell people that she was a singer. No one, including her own children, knew her musical history. Music producer Michael Crockett encouraged her to perform publicly. Approaching the four-year anniversary of the awful car accident…she did. Al-Jundi first found a modest venue with 70 seats, and sold 70 tickets. Encouraged, her next performance was in a space with a capacity of 300. Again, she sold out. The Arab community in Austin was hungry for the sounds of home.

She then made a daring and financially risky move. She hosted her first Arabic Hafleh (party) in the big room at La Zona Rosa, advertising it not only to the Arab community but to the general public, offering an evening of Middle Eastern food, a bazaar, belly dancing, live music, and an open dance floor. “When I came out on stage and saw the place packed,” she reminisces, “I realized that they were here to hear me. That was the best feeling ever!”

She kept asking herself, “How can I take it a step further?”

One way was introducing the lively side of Arabic culture to the young Austin club scene. She began hosting Arabian Nights at Red Fez in the increasingly popular Warehouse District. Deciding that she needed an outlet for the merchandise she sold at her bazaars, and wanting a permanent studio for her fitness and dance classes, she leased a suite in the North Campus area. She proudly hung a banner for The Arabic Bazaar, opening her doors in early September of 2001. Then she promptly closed them again after the events of 9/11. Some people urged her to remove the banner. Others recommended she change the name of her business. After a couple days of staying away, she went to the shop and discovered someone had anonymously left fresh flowers at the door. Feeling grateful and encouraged, she reopened and has never looked back.

Arabian Nights at Red Fez

And she hasn’t stopped singing. 2004 saw the release of her first CD, Traditional Songs From Syria, recorded in Egypt and distributed on ARC, a British world music label. She is currently in the process of recording a second solo CD, Sharrafouni (they honored me), which she expects to be released in time for Valentine’s Day 2009. One of the songs on Sharrafouni, “Wijjak Ma’ii,” will already have seen the light of day on Putumayo’s Acoustic Arabia compilation released September 2nd. (Al-Jundi also provided the extensive liner notes for the mesmerizing collection.) This stunning collection smoothly fuses East and West into a whole that sounds at once exotic and familiar. Al-Jundi’s voice has never sounded more relaxed, more vulnerable, more seductive.

It’s hard to imagine what Al-Jundi thinks when reflecting how close she came to a life without her music. Certainly, she never gives herself time to do so. She stays busy managing her store, teaching belly dance, teaching the Arabic language, organizing guided tours of places like Egypt or Jordan, producing the Haflehs and the monthly Arabian Nights at Red Fez. The rest of her time, she is in the Middle East. A typical trip might entail spending several days in the recording studio in Beirut and enjoying the nightlife with some of that country’s top singers and musicians. This is followed by a quick two-day jaunt to Damascus where she combs the markets from dawn till dusk, covered in dust, purchasing inventory for the store in Austin. She pops over to Egypt or Morocco to meet up with her tour group, shows them a good time, and then heads back to Texas.

Photo: Ricardo Acevedo

Friday’s Hafleh at La Zona Rosa was her first there in two years (both Haflehs in 2007 were at a smaller venue to curb expenses). The return brought the grand scale back in full splendor: a belly dance showcase, sheesha (hookah) café, Arabic bazaar, henna tattoos, and even a raffle giving away a trip to Egypt next spring. Doubling as a celebration of Putumayo’s Acoustic Arabia release only makes the night sweeter for Al-Jundi. Once the Hafleh is over, and lest she settle into post-party doldrums, Al-Jundi will be preparing for the annual St. Elias Mediterranean Festival in October before heading back to Lebanon to finish her CD, do a little more buying in Syria, and lead a tour of Egypt and the Red Sea. “Sometimes I think I’m trying to see how many careers I can have in one lifetime,” she laughs.

When asked if she considers herself a cultural ambassador for the Middle East, Zein Al-Jundi replies, “I have heard people say that about me. It’s not something I call myself, but if I am, I will accept it with great pride and honor and do my best to live up to it. If I have raised awareness of the Arab world in this city, then I am happy. I love where I come from, not because I’m from there but because it’s really wonderful. I have a passion and desire to share it with whoever will receive it.”

And Austin has been receiving it with open arms, ears, and minds.

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