Cheb i Sabbah

The music of the world converges through the productions and remixes of Algeria-born and San Francisco-based DJ Cheb I Sabbah. The producer/promoter of a now defunct world music series, 1002 Nights, Sabbah presented a diverse range of musicians including Pakistani Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and London-based Bhangra group, Bally Sagoo. Since 1988, Sabbah has presented a similar series, Africa/India/Arabia, weekly at Nickie's, a popular San Francisco nightclub. Sabbah began his professional career in the mid-'60s, when he DJed at a Parisian club where he played American soul records. In the late '60s, he became involved with an experimental performance group, the Living Theater. After moving to San Francisco in 1986, he joined a similar group, the Tribal Warning Theater, building a solid reputation for his artistically spliced soundtracks for the group's shows. Sabbah's debut album, The Majoon Traveler, released in 1994, combined cut-up remixes of pieces by Don Cherry, Ornette Coleman, and Angus Maclise with the poetry of Ira Cohen.