George Sadak is bringing a part of Alexandria, Egypt’s vibrant streets, to Eugene for the Oregon Country Fair and shares the gift of tabla with anyone eager to learn. Sadak has been performing and teaching at the Fair for the past 17 years and is returning again with drum lessons. 

Sadak plays the Egyptian tabla, also known as a doumbek or darbuka, which is a goblet-shaped hand drum. He refers to this as the “skeleton of [Arabic] music.” Tabla is played with three dominant sounds: “doum” is a deeper stroke from hitting the center of the drum, “tek” is a crisp stroke and “ka” is similar to tek but is produced with your non-dominant hand.  

“You gotta create the snare drum sound and you have to create everything in between that supports the melody for the group — it’s kind of like martial arts for drumming,” Sadak says. “Because if you don’t do it relaxed and precise, it just doesn’t work.” 

Sadak emphasizes the difference in-person drumming lessons can make compared to online lessons. He says that playing tabla within a community space is a “meditative” and grounding experience. “Every time I achieved another sound on my drum, it gave me a certain self-satisfaction that money cannot buy,” Sadak says.  

Sadak grew up in Alexandria and traces the main influences on his tabla playing style to the bustling streets of the town. Sadak says that tabla players used to line the streets of the town, playing for events such as weddings and other celebrations, and the music caught his attention.

“I would hear the same song playing walking to school and coming back, or doing my studies — I could hear the music coming from the street. These songs kind of stuck in my head, sort of like jazz. This is what I sort of absorbed growing up,” Sadak says.

He began playing the kit drums when he was around 10 years old, and he would head to weddings and celebrations, and would play pop music with his father. 

Sadak mentioned that playing the tabla was “unfortunately” associated with the “lower society.” Since tabla players frequently visited bars and nightclubs, there was a stigma surrounding the instrument. 

“No matter how much I loved the instrument, I could really not go out and take lessons from a tabla player,” Sadak says. “Once I came to America, this is where I could focus more on all drumming, kit and tabla.” 

Sadak studied jazz when he came to the U.S. and eventually settled in Seattle, where he has stayed for the past 25 years. He has his own studio and does original production of shows to perform around town. Sadak also teaches tabla to his own students in Seattle. 

“I fell in love with this drum and I shared that with people and my students usually stick with me for 10 years, and some of them actually 15-20 years now. And it’s not for me, it’s because of the drum itself,” Sadak says.

George Sadak performs 11:30 am to 12 pm on July 10, 11 and 12 at the Oregon Country Fair.