Music » Middle East Music

CHALHOUB, CLAUDE-CLAUDE CHALHOUB

In his introductory note to this CD, Itzhak Perlman informs us that, more than anything else he has recorded, this is truly his own music--"what you might hear if you came to my house and I decided to jam with some friends." And jam he does--with some very talented friends indeed. Klezmer music, which combines the folk and religious music of Yiddish-speaking cultures with various musical traditions of countries such as Russia, Turkey, and Greece, is unusual territory for a major label and a superstar artist, but here the combination works perfectly. Perlman, who normally is the star of his recordings, just blends into the whole celebration. The playing of violin, accordion, mandolin, clarinet, and other instruments is stylish, infectious, and at times virtuosic. Strangely, the sound lacks openness, inhibiting the characteristically vibrant timbres of these instruments. --David Vernier

With keyboardist Lyle Mays as chief accompanist, Noa comes off as a bubbling female counterpart to Marc Cohn. Oddly off-kilter, but intriguing nonetheless. --Jeff Bateman

The Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem has chosen to work in a trio setting this time out, accompanied by Francois Couturier on piano and Jean-Louis Matinier on accordion. Brahem states in the liner notes that these pieces were actually composed on the piano, emerging while he was taking a much-needed short break from his primary instrument. While Pas de Chat Noir ("The Black Cat's Footsteps") is a change of pace, it is a not a terribly remote detour. Brahem is still in his favorite space, exploring the power of implication, and the other players are in synch with his vision. All three participants sound muted, relating to one another in parallels rather than in a heated dialogue. The result is a spacious, romantic pastiche of Farid El-Atrache, Astor Piazzolla, Keith Jarrett, 19th- and 20th-century French impressionists (especially Eric Satie), plus shades of every strung-out, enervated, after-hours nightclub jam that ever was. --Christina Roden

Chant of Drums is a composition for percussion instruments of Iran based on the rhythms and melodies heard in the spiritual religious ceremonies of Zekr (a ritualistic dance performed by the dervishes during devotional ceremonies) and Samâ (the state of self-abandonment reached through listening ,whereby the dervish becomes one with the world). These rituals are performed in the Khânghâh (place of spiritual gathering) of the province of Kurdistan, as well as in religious mourning ceremonies in the city of Booshehr. This work includes various rhythmical figures and it has a special polyrhythmical form composed of the various rhythms found in the aforementioned ceremonies and regions.

As on their previous releases, this much-admired Persian/Indian crossover duo have created a separate yet spacious universe that is tranquility incarnate. The musicans, who have named themselves after an ancient form of romantic poetry, perform on sitar (a multi-stringed Indian plucked instrument with a tall fretboard attached to a resonating gourd) and kamancheh (a sonorous but gutty-sounding spike fiddle) and voice, accompanied by a tabla virtuoso (a tuned skin drum commonly played in India and Pakistan). They wander hither and yon, seemingly traveling between dimensions of time, thought, and feeling. People who find Indian classical music too demanding for a beginner and/or have no idea what Persian music sounds like need have no fear. These three extended pieces, called "Fire," "Dawn," and "Eternity," may be somewhat rarified but they are also utterly accessible. Performing live before a respectfully rapt audience, Ghazal is at once sensuous, austere, fiery, and spiritual. --Christina Roden

Array

Release Date: 2002-11-12, Audio CD, Mondo Melodia

Release Date: 1999-06-15, Audio CD, Easydisc

With Mediterranean instruments like the oud, derbuka and ney, Radio Tarifa collapses recognizably Arabic sounds with flamenco rhythms, playing with a flair reminiscent of a traditional Balkan wedding band. (The Spanish ensemble also tackles a 16th-century Sephardic tune and a 12th-century French procession.) Central to Radio Tarifa's charm is the rough-edged voice of Benjamin Escoriza, whose throaty elocution makes his Spanish a terrific blur of clarity and wavering timbre. Aside from the Mediterranean percussion--supplied mainly by the differently-pitched hand drums--Radio Tarifa also dots its grooves with Afro-Cuban inflected bongos and an electric bass, making this global concatenation particularly delightful. --Andrew Bartlett