This starkly beautiful collection of 13 tracks by Tunisian composer Anouar Brahem is his debut release for the ECM label. The album spotlights Brahem's solo oud pieces, which range from the meditative ("Sadir") to the propulsive ("Ronda"). This solo work is nicely augmented by stellar contributions from violinist Bechir Selmi and percussionist Lassad Hosni; Selmi is featured on the transcendent "Barzakh", while Hosni figures prominently on "Souga" and "Bou Naouara". The three musicians come together for the joyous dance number "Parfum de Gitane". Throughout Barzakh, Brahem and the others forge an appealing mix of Middle Eastern sonorities and jazz phrasing, an intimate sound perfectly suited to the clean and spacious ECM recording style. This is a great title for fans of both international music and jazz.
Dino Saluzzi as a solo performer is one of the more remarkable musicians in contemporary music, in that he plays several instruments, including his beloved bandoneon with such precision, balance and subtle power. Kultrum is indeed a multi-cultural project that taps into the folkloric, ancestral, and traditional sounds of Native American Indians and his South American roots, enhanced by producer Manfred Eicher's Eurocentric notions. The blending of deep drums, rattling percussion, and chanted vocals with the bandoneon or wood flutes creates a vista of deeply spiritual and ancient ritualistic music. Somehow these sounds are magically transmuted and modernized by the pristine sonic tones the ECM production team always lends to their albums, making this a true contemporary world music tour de force. Without the usage of overdubbing, Saluzzi takes the one-man band concept to tribal elder, soothsayer, or medicine man terrain. "Kultrum Pampa" sets the tone, as a flute sound like a French horn opens the gates for various cymbapls and African percussion instruments. "Agua De Paz" naturally flows like a long stream, while "Pajaros y Ceibos" reflects the natural sounds of a woodland and avian creatures in a vocal manner reminiscent of Milton Nascimento. Clearly this recording depicts a journey through various warm climates, exotic mountains, and glorious natural terra firma. The three-part suite "Ritmo Arauca" is an audio landscape in a full day cycle of rain, thunder, tropical bird calls, and bandoneon told tales of legends, followed by after dinner bonfire dancing. "El Rio y El Abuelo" directly reflects Saluzzi's traditions of his homeland in Argentina, with "Pasos Que Quedan" the most passionately romantic piece, and "Por El Sol y Por La Lluvia" again evocative of the sun and rain, but in a motif akin to morning awakening, as the circadian rhythms of life are renewed again. The bandoneon is not just Saluzzi's instrument, but his heart and soul singing and pleading to a rat race world that knows not of the secrets of the rain forest, the so-called third world, or of life apart from the concrete jungle. Your invitation to discover this remote topography is hereby offered, only a purchase price away from passage on a fascinating excursion into ancient, unadulterated, untouched lands anchored in the mystical realm of the imagination.
Khomsa is the heroine in the movie Bezness, and also inspires one of many musical themes from Tunisian films and theater documented on this CD. Oud player Anouar Brahem has performed these pieces across a decade with different ensembles, but for the first time they were recorded in one studio setting. The instrumentation varies in size and de-emphasizes Brahem's role as a frontman. In fact, upon listening, this could just as easily be credited under the direction of the brilliant accordionist Richard Galliano, for his role is heard more often as the lead instrument. The musicians combine here and there with the dynamic ECM signature rhythm team of bassist Palle Danielsson and drummer Jon Christensen, or in certain instances pianist François Couturier, violinist Bechir Selmi, and on rare occasion soprano saxophonist Jean Marc Larché. The themes are luxurious, rich, beautiful, and organic, with no wasted motion or excesses, and there is a feeling of being on a journey. Galliano's solo "Comme un Depart," the solo oud of Brahem in "L'Infini Jour," and Selmi's "Regard de Mouette" get the caravan slowly started. "Claquent les Voiles" sports Brahem's mysterious Middle Eastern lines and chords with the masterful bassist and drummer, while "Vague" is hymnal in Galliano's ability to stretch long tied notes with his bellows. Couturieris a delicate stylist, matching theological timbres on "Vague," and working in tandem with Brahem during "Seule" and on the light 6/8 rhythm of "Nouvelle Vague" with Galliano. He also plays a little synthesizer, specifically during the circular "Un Sentier d'Alliance" aside overdubbed echoed piano and soprano sax. Most of the collective play on "Ain Ghazel," a sensitive and sensual musical sketch, features contrasting soprano sax from Larché, atypically animated drumming by Christensen, and Brahem's pensive oud as the period on a sentence. "Souffle un Vent de Sable" shows a group design in breathing, balanced tones led by Galliano, and Brahem coming in after the fact with the bass and drums. The title track displays a unified whole in the ECM spirit with Brahem, Galliano, Couturier, and Danielsson. Closest to jazz is "Des Rayons et des Ombres," a fast trio number with Galliano and the rhythm section approaching bop. "Comme une Absence" concludes the project with two overdubbed violin tracks from Selmi. The buyer should be aware that the personnel listed on the booklet cover does not reflect the entire combo at any one time. Otherwise, this is a beautiful contemporary statement reflecting the cinematic forms Brahem loves, mixed with European classical and improvisational sensibilities, professionally rendered, and well within the tradition of world jazz and the clean ECM concept.
Fearlessly searching for new conceptions of sound and not caring where he found them, Garbarek joined hands with the classical early-music movement, improvising around the four male voices of the Hilliard Ensemble. Now here was a radical idea guaranteed to infuriate both hardcore jazz buffs and the even more pristine more-authentic-than-thou folk in early music circles. Yet this unlikely fusion works stunningly well -- and even more hearteningly, went over the heads of the purists and became a hit album at a time (1994) when Gregorian chants were a hot item. Chants, early polyphonic music, and Renaissance motets by composers like Morales and Dufay form the basic material, bringing forth a cool yet moving spirituality in Garbarek's work. Recorded in a heavily reverberant Austrian monastery, the voices sometimes develop in overwhelming waves, and Garbarek rides their crest, his soprano sax soaring in the monastery acoustic, or he underscores the voices almost unobtrusively, echoing the voices, finding ample room to move around the modal harmonies yet applying his sound sparingly. Those with nervous metabolisms may become impatient with this undefinable music, but if you give it a chance, it will seduce you, too.
One of the first works I listened to by Kenny Wheeler. 19 years have passed and I still love it. A BIG thank you to my friend Vangelis Moutsatsos for this eye opener. :o)
Artist:Kenny Wheeler Album: The Widow In The Window Year: 1990 Label: ECM
Personnel:
Kenny Wheeler: Fluegelhorn, Trumpet John Abercrombie: Guitar John Taylor: Piano Dave Holand: Bass Peter Erskine: Drums
Ustad Fateh Ali Khan: Voice Jan Garbarek: Soprano and Tenor Saxophones Ustad Shaukat Hussain: Tabla Ustad Nazim Ali Khan: Sarangi Deepika Thathaal: Voice Manu Katche: Drums (on "Saga")
