Cheb i Sabbah, a world music DJ and local resident who was a regular fixture at Nickies in the '90s and '00s, passed away on Thursday.
Sabbah was born Haim Serge El Baz in Algeria in 1947. As a teenager he moved to Paris, where he began his career as a DJ spinning soul records by American artists like Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. In 1984 he moved to San Francisco, where he adopted the stage name Cheb i Sabbah, meaning "Young of the Morning" in Arabic. From 1990 to 2005, Sabbah ran weekly Tuesday night dance parties at Nickies called "1002 Nights". The event moved to Blue Cube and later Underground SF, but Sabbah continued to make regular appearances at Nickies, not far from his Page Street home. In May of 2011, Sabbah was diagnosed with stage IV stomach cancer. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy, as well as healing therapy in India and Germany. He was able to continue DJing, performing as recently as September. But on Thursday, Sabbah lost his battle with the disease. He was 66. Sabbah's family announced the news on his website:
Sabbah was born Haim Serge El Baz in Algeria in 1947. As a teenager he moved to Paris, where he began his career as a DJ spinning soul records by American artists like Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. In 1984 he moved to San Francisco, where he adopted the stage name Cheb i Sabbah, meaning "Young of the Morning" in Arabic. From 1990 to 2005, Sabbah ran weekly Tuesday night dance parties at Nickies called "1002 Nights". The event moved to Blue Cube and later Underground SF, but Sabbah continued to make regular appearances at Nickies, not far from his Page Street home. In May of 2011, Sabbah was diagnosed with stage IV stomach cancer. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy, as well as healing therapy in India and Germany. He was able to continue DJing, performing as recently as September. But on Thursday, Sabbah lost his battle with the disease. He was 66. Sabbah's family announced the news on his website:
"Dear friends, family, fans and fellow beat followers; It is with a heavy heart that we, Cheb i Sabbah's family, announce his peaceful passing yesterday morning in his home in San Francisco. He was surrounded by his life partner of over 18 years and is memorialized by his two children and three grand children."Plans for a memorial service have not yet been announced. For now, you can listen to some of Sabbah's music here.
