Hossam Ramzy

Egyptian native Hossam Ramzy serves as leader and chief percussionist for Pharaoh's Egyptian Ensemble, a group Western audiences primarily recognize from its role as the backing band on Robert Plant and Jimmy Page’s No Quarter tour and album. He first took up the darabouka, also known as the Egyptian tabla, during childhood despite his father’s objections. As a teenager he relocated to Saudi Arabia, where he honed his skills while earning a living as a trap drummer on radio and television broadcasts. In 1975 Ramzy settled in England to pursue studies in jazz drumming, an effort that led to the release of his album Introduction to Egyptian Dance Rhythms. Peter Gabriel encountered the recording and enlisted Ramzy for Passion, the soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ. Prior to the Page/Plant tour, Ramzy had already collaborated with Joan Armatrading, Marc Almond, Electric Light Orchestra, Debbie Harry, and Killing Joke. Through more than a dozen albums by Pharaoh’s Egyptian Ensemble, Ramzy has sought to convey Egyptian and Arabic music to Western listeners by means of his distinctive arrangements, rhythm selections, mixing choices, and tempos. The year 2000 brought the appearance of Sabla Tolo: Journeys Into Pure Egyptian Percussion together with El Amar, while Gypsies of the Nile-Rahhal arrived in early 2001.