Oud player Salomon Amzallag, better known as Samy Al-Maghribi, died March 9, 2008.  Born in Morocco in 1922, he soon became a well-known figure in Andalusian music and after emigrating to Canada, served for many years as the Cantor of Montreal's Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue.

After retiring, he spent several years in Israel where he worked with the Israeli Andalusian Orchestra and eventually returned to Canada.

"He was a very fine singer, instrumentalist, and composer, highly appreciated in both the Jewish and the Muslim worlds, and a great person,"  said ethnomusicologist Judith Cohen, who studied oud with Samy Al-Maghribi.