Ali Hassan Kuban

Ali Hassan Kuban علي حسن كوبان (1929, Qurta, Egypt – 2001 ) was a Nubian singer and bandleader. He was known as the "Captain" or (later) "Godfather" of Nubian music. His father loved singing, so his son acquired his love of singing from him.

Ali Kuban and his family moved to Cairo in 1944 where he joined the Nasiriyah Primary School in the Maarouf neighborhood. Kuban started his musical career singing nationalist songs at weddings to the approval and admiration of the attendees. This encouraged him to work in the field of Nubian singing, so he left his studies and joined the Nubian Scouts in Abdeen in 1947, where he learned the fundamentals of music, especially Western music, and playing the clarinet.

In 1949, Coban participated in the operetta The Nubian Wedding at the Cairo Opera House in front of King Farouk and Al-Nahhas Pasha at the Khedive Opera House in 1949. Walk Like a Nubian (1991), Piranha Nubian Magic (1995), Mercator – reissued 1999, Blue Flame Real Nubian: Cairo Wedding Classics (2001), Piranha The Rough Guide to Ali Hassan Kuban (2002), World Music Network – compilation

Contributing artist The Rough Guide to World Music (1994), World Music Network The Rough Guide to the Music of North Africa (1997), World Music Network