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Frequently Bought Together
Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. The Lover Of Beirut |
| 2. Dance With Waves |
| 3. Stopover At Djibouti |
| 4. The Astounding Eyes Of Rita |
| 5. Al Birwa |
| 6. Galilee Mon Amour |
| 7. Waking State |
| 8. For No Apparent Reason |
Product Description
Songlines, (Bill Badley), January/February 2010
(5 stars) Gloriously lush...shows a confidence and clarity of purpose that sets Anouar Brahem apart from all others...beautiful.
The Guardian, (John Fordham), January 1, 2010
(4 stars) Vivacious...a richly varied and often thrilling piece of world-jazz...wonderful Lebanese percussionist, Khaled Yassine.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The Oud is an artefact of almost alchemical power.
A lute-like instrument of ancient Arabic heritage,
in Anouar Brahem's hands it both cuts like a knife
and soothes like a healing balm.
This album came my way by courtesy of a learned friend.
I am a newcomer to Mr Brahem and his music.
'The Astounding Eyes Of Rita' is a revelation.
The eight pieces in this collection are largely slow
in pace, reflective and almost hypnotic in their
power to engage both mind and emotion.
The inner workings of compositional and improvisatory
elements are seamlessly integrated in music of magical
complexity. It is an elusive and beguiling formula.
Klaus Gesing's bass clarinet must share equal credit
for the extraordinary sound-world created here.
It is a magnificent presence.
Bjorn Meyer's bass and Khaled Yassine's percussion
provide a solid but subtle rhythmic foundation.
A true ensemble exercise in every way.
Opening track 'The Lover Of Beirut' delivers some haunting
unison playing from Brahem and Gesing. The melodic material
takes its time to get under your skin and before you know
it you're inside the music looking out. A prisoner of beauty.
'Stopover At Djibouti' is a marginally more playful piece but
no-less lacking in intensity. The clarinet melody beginning about
two-and-a-half minutes in is the stuff that dreams are made of.
Lithe and slippery and entirely delightful. Brahem's mercurial
reply to Gesing's solo is equally breathtaking.
'Waking State' is a stunningly simple and exposed meditation.
At its heart an ethereal voice appears and
disappears like a ghost in the desert.
The stuff of true enchantment !
Final track 'For No Apparent Reason' finds an almost funky groove
and concludes the album on an eminently enjoyable upbeat note.
One of the finest recordings in any genre I have heard this year.
Essential.
A lute-like instrument of ancient Arabic heritage,
in Anouar Brahem's hands it both cuts like a knife
and soothes like a healing balm.
This album came my way by courtesy of a learned friend.
I am a newcomer to Mr Brahem and his music.
'The Astounding Eyes Of Rita' is a revelation.
The eight pieces in this collection are largely slow
in pace, reflective and almost hypnotic in their
power to engage both mind and emotion.
The inner workings of compositional and improvisatory
elements are seamlessly integrated in music of magical
complexity. It is an elusive and beguiling formula.
Klaus Gesing's bass clarinet must share equal credit
for the extraordinary sound-world created here.
It is a magnificent presence.
Bjorn Meyer's bass and Khaled Yassine's percussion
provide a solid but subtle rhythmic foundation.
A true ensemble exercise in every way.
Opening track 'The Lover Of Beirut' delivers some haunting
unison playing from Brahem and Gesing. The melodic material
takes its time to get under your skin and before you know
it you're inside the music looking out. A prisoner of beauty.
'Stopover At Djibouti' is a marginally more playful piece but
no-less lacking in intensity. The clarinet melody beginning about
two-and-a-half minutes in is the stuff that dreams are made of.
Lithe and slippery and entirely delightful. Brahem's mercurial
reply to Gesing's solo is equally breathtaking.
'Waking State' is a stunningly simple and exposed meditation.
At its heart an ethereal voice appears and
disappears like a ghost in the desert.
The stuff of true enchantment !
Final track 'For No Apparent Reason' finds an almost funky groove
and concludes the album on an eminently enjoyable upbeat note.
One of the finest recordings in any genre I have heard this year.
Essential.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Anahour Brahem has made a number of albums for ECM which have all had good features but inevitably some have appealed to me at least more than others. At first I really loved his oud playing and the musicians he was paired with in the eclectic ECM way but I had begun to feel well I know his work and perhaps I'm a bit jaded with it and for this reason I delayed for some time before buying this album. In the end I did and I am now very glad to have done so as this is the best for some time. It is consistent with his previous work but has all the strongest features and very little of the defects. All the musicians are excellent and work very well together, the material is entrancing so that the album repays hours of listening. It is quietly entrancing with wonderfully evocative soundscapes of langorous evenings and quiet sensuality.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
My ears were introduced to this gem by a hi fi dealer when I purcahsed some new speakers recently (Jim at Audiolincs, could not rate him more highly - do your ears a favour). Within the first few seconds I knew this album was a eureka moment, like the first time I heard DSOTM or Appalachian Spring.
The emotional grip and evocativeness is out of all prpoprtion to the simplicity of the tunes. Its as if Anouar Brahems tunes are weaving a spell inside your head. It goes without saying that this is partly achieved by the superb musicianship and recording quality.
The disc can be listened to at a superficial level and enjoyed as background or mood music, but can also be listened to intently and it still delivers.
The emotional grip and evocativeness is out of all prpoprtion to the simplicity of the tunes. Its as if Anouar Brahems tunes are weaving a spell inside your head. It goes without saying that this is partly achieved by the superb musicianship and recording quality.
The disc can be listened to at a superficial level and enjoyed as background or mood music, but can also be listened to intently and it still delivers.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
One of his best
Anouar Brahem is one of the best-selling artists on ECM, a record label that over the decades has pushed the boundaries of jazz and world-fusion - and provided great music in the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Regor
"musical roots"
Music that intrigues and satisfies on several levels - as sublime ambience, as evocative travelogue, as contrapuntal wizardry. Read more
Published 16 months ago by snailman 21
astounding
Saw this crew in concert recently playing this album. It's heavenly and i can't reccomend it highly enough. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Dbwhite
The Astounding Eyes of Rita
Despite the fact that he's as reliable as a Rolls Royce, Anouar Brahem is not a brand, he's simply a wonderful musician, and he only plays with the best. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Ian Heywood
Effortlessly persuasive
This is Brahem's masterpiece. Deep, slow and as someone else said, soulful.
It's fantastically mature music that just sucks you in, cossets you for a cd's worth and... Read more
It's fantastically mature music that just sucks you in, cossets you for a cd's worth and... Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2010 by D. Rosam
Haunting, moving, melodious
Bought "blind" on recommendation for a Christmas present, thoroughly enjoyed by all int he family, though our tastes could not be more different
Easy enough to tap into, but... Read more
Easy enough to tap into, but... Read more
Published on 5 Jan 2010 by NewbieBuyer
...a delicate sound
Like always, a sweet sound. Very elegant, indeed. Anouar Brahem is not only an excellent jazzman but he use delicate instruments to produce a delicate sound. Five stars.
Published on 4 Dec 2009 by PRF VICTOR GONCALVES
THE LOVELY RITA
This is very much a celebratorty release from the Tunisian oud master,as usual the mood is captured admirably by Manfred Eicher with a sound so pure it makes this Saharan opus seem... Read more
Published on 9 Oct 2009 by Finbar the looney
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