Anouar Brahem - Astrakan Café 2000

The Tunisian oud genius has done it again. Anouar Brahem has issued only five records under his own name over the past decade, each more adventurous than the last, without compromising his original vision: for the music of his region to meet with the other music of Africa and Asia and create a delirious sound that is equal thirds past, present, and future, along the precipice of historical lineage. For Brahem there is no attempt to synthesize the globe, or even the sounds of the East with those of the West. He is content in his knowledge that sound is infinite, and that his tradition, as it evolves and expands into a deeper pan-African/trans-Asian whole, is more than large enough for a master musician to rummage through in one lifetime. Astrakan Café, the follow-up to his brilliant Thimar, is a smaller-sounding recording that reaches farther into the deep crags of the Balkans. With Barbaros Erköse on clarinet and the Indian and Turkish percussion stylings of the professor of somber precision, Lassad Hosni, Brahem's oud enters into a dialogue, musically, that has never before existed (though he has collaborated with both players previously). Erköse is a Turkish clarinetist of gypsy origin. His low, warm, rounded tones are consonant with the oud. Erköse plays equal parts music of the Balkan and Arab worlds with a tinge of the ancient klezmorim whispering their secrets through his horn. Despite the journeying these musicians do here, they never stray far from the takht, a small ensemble capable of improvising to the point of drunken ecstasy. Listening through Astrakan Café, you can hear the gypsy flamenco tied deeply to Indian ragas and even a kind of Eastern jazz. But there is no hyperactivity in it, no need to cram as many traditions as possible into one putridly excessive mix that expresses nothing but the novelty of the moment. Astrakan Café has many highlights: its two title tracks that have their roots in Russian and Azerbaijan music; "Ashkabad," which is an improvisation on a melody from the folk music of Turkmenistan; "Astara," a modal improvisation based on love songs from Azerbaijan; "Halfounie," a segment from a Brahem-composed soundtrack inspired by the medina or marketplace in Tunis; and "Parfum de Gitanie," which takes a fragment from Ethiopian sacred music, slows it to the point of stillness, and waxes lazily and jazzily over the top, with the oud and the clarinet trading syncopated eights. This is deeply personal, profound music. It is also highly iconographic, with timelessness woven through every measure. The only "exotica" on Astrakan Café is its "otherness" out of space and any discernable era. The tempos are languid and full of purpose, the dynamics clean and clearly demarcated, the tones and modes warm, rich, and linear. This would be traditional music if a tradition such as this -- which is original, though adapted from many sources on inspiration -- actually existed. Highly recommended. AMG.

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Anouar Brahem - The Astounding Eyes of Rita 2009

The role of the Arabic, lute-like, stringed instrument, the oud, has been revolutionized through the playing of Anouar Brahem. While used in the past to accompany vocalists, the oud is used by Brahemas an imaginative solo instrument. In 1988, Tunisian newspaper Tunis-Hebdo wrote, "If we had to elect the musician of the '80s, we would have, without the least hesitation, chosen Anouar Brahem."Brahem has composed numerous pieces for such films and musical theater productions such asSabots en Or, Bezness, Halfaouine, and Les Silences Du Palais. He collaborated with Maurice Bejarton the ballet Thalassa Mare Nostrum, and with Gabriel Yared on the Costa-Gravas film Hanna K.

Encouraged by his music-loving father, Brahem began studying the oud, at the age of ten, when he enrolled at the National Conservatory of Music. For nearly a decade, he studied with influential oud player Ali Sitri. By the age of 15, he was playing well enough to perform regularly with local orchestras. Although he initially focused on Arabic music, Brahem increasingly incorporated elements of jazz. This was enhanced during the six years that he spent in Paris (1981-1987), performing at festivals and collaborating with choreographer Maurice Bejart on a production of A Return to Carthage that received the prestigious National Award of Excellence In Music.

Returning to Tunis in 1987, Brahem performed at the Carthage Festival in the multi-artist productionLigua 85. Shortly afterwards, he agreed to become director of the Ensemble Musical de la Villa de Tunis. During the two years that he oversaw the ensemble, Brahem divided the group into smaller sets of various sizes. Among the productions that he directed were Leilatou Tayu and El Hizam El Dhahbi.

In 1990, Brahem resigned to focus on his own career. After touring in the United States and Canada, he met and was signed by Manfred Eicher, producer and founder of German record label ECM. His debut album, Barzakh, released in 1991, was recorded with Turkish musicians Bechir Selmiand Lassad Hosni. In a review of the album, German music magazine Stereo wrote, "(Brahem) is an exceptional musician and improviser." Brahem's second album, Conte de L'incroyable Amour, released in 1992, was recorded with clarinet player Barbaros Erköse. In 1994, Brahem recordedMadar with Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek and Pakistani tabla player Shaukat Hussain. His fourth album, Khomsa, released in 1995, featured improvised interpretations of his compositions for Tunisian film and theater productions, and was recorded with accordion player Richard Galliano and violinist Bechir Selmi. With his fifth effort, Thimar, released in 1998, Brahem collaborated with soprano saxophone and bass clarinet player John Surman and double bass player Dave Holland.
Astrakan Cafe was issued three years later, and followed in 2003 by Les Pas Du Chat Noir. That same year, his 2001 collaboration with Ochestre National de Jazz was released as Charmediterranéen.
Brahem took time off to tour and to write. His next offering, 2007's Le Voyage de Sahar, was a trio date with pianist François Couturier and accordionist Jean-Louis Matinier
It would be three years before he released The Astounding Eyes of Rita played in a quartet setting with bass clarinetist Klaus Gesing, double bassist Björn Meyer, and

Khaled Yassine on darbouka and bendir. The composer and oudist toured several festivals and select European cities with assorted groups before taking an extended break.

Affected deeply by the continually unfolding events of the 2011 Jasmine Revolution in his native Tunisia and the political tumult that followed, Brahembegan composing along thematic lines. When he finally entered a studio in Lugano with Eicher in 2014, he enlistedGesing, Meyer, and Couturier, as well as the string section from Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana conducted by Pietro Mianiti. Over the course of a month, they recorded enough material for the double album Souvenance, which was issued in the spring of 2015. AMG.

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