Khamis Henkesh

Khamis Henkesh

Khamis Hankesh was born and raised on Mohammad Ali Street, the second son of “Rayes” (Master) Henkesh. He began his musical journey at the age of 5, like many little boys, by playing the bongos. But his inate talent began to develope and he soon moved on to playing the tabla. He later honed his skill and love for the tabla by playing with his father's band at local folk weddings. Soon well known artists of the time such as dancer Tahiya Carioca, comedian Mahmoud Shekoukou and singer Shafiq Galal took notice of this unusual young man and began to showcase his music.

Soon after, Khamis joined the band of singer Ahmed Adawaya and his musical career took off. With such enormous exposure he was able to sign a contract with one of Egypt's largest music production companies to record studio sessions. He can be heard accompanying singers:

1- Hany Shaker
2- Ahmad A3daweya
3- Amr Fathy
4- Mohammad Mounir
5- Mohammad Fou’ad
6 – Amr Diab
7 – Ali El Haggar
8 – Mohammad El Helw
9 – Nagaat El Sagheer
10 – So3aad Mohammad
11 – Badara El sayed
12 – Samira Sa3eed
13 – Fatma Eid
14 – Layla Ghofran
15 – Nagah Salaam
16 – Sabaah
17 – Fahd Balan
18 – Shereen Wagdy
19 – Kazem El Saher
20 – Nadia Mustafa

He also produced four of his own albums:

• A3shra Baladi - recorded in 1978 and included his most famous piece Rooq El Anaany, a folkloric number. The tape earned him the nickname The Electronic Tabla Player. (Yasmin's note: read synthesizers here)
• A3la El Dama We El Tekka - recorded in 1981, was his debut at writing music. The album was arranged in partnership with Mr. Ibrahim El Radio.
• Talata A3la Wahda We Nos - recorded in 1982, composed and arranged by Khamis Hankesh.
• Hes Bes, recorded 1990 and composed by Khamis and Mohammad Helal.

Khamis has played on numerous scores for Egyptian television shows and movies. He has been interviewed many times on Egyptian and other satellite channels. He has participated in many festivals around the Arab and African world. And he has performed many solos for the opera with Dr. Gamal Salama, Mr. Yehia Khaleel and Mr. Magdy El Husseini.

Khamis presently performs in Cairo with Shereen Wagdy, Mohammad Mounir and Yehia Khalil.