Music : Astrakan Cafe
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0601215949421
Label: Ecm Records
Manufacturer: Ecm Records
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Ecm Records
Release Date: February 27, 2001
Sales Rank: 41409
Studio: Ecm Records
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Average Rating: 
Rating: -
Ohhhhh, what's that fantastic disk. No comment, it fabulous disk.
Thanks Mr. Anouar.
Rating: -
This is my first experience with oud music, and I have to say I love it very much. This is a very relaxing CD, and I plan to buy more of Brahem's music. The only thing I would say contrary is that the clarinet is too overpowering at times. I have to turn my volume down a tad. But on songs like 'Parfum de Gitane' the instrument sounds perfect and magical. Thanks for the great CD.
Rating:  -
I was searching for contemporary Arab music when I ran across this gem. Inspired by the music of the 'stans of Central Asia, this disc pairs Anouar Brahem's astounding oud playing with a clarinet and Moroccan drums (bendir and darbouka). The resulting fusion succeeds surprisingly well, comparable to the achievements in a different genre of Radio Tarife. Some of the tracks have a jazz quality reminiscent, at moments, of Benny Goodman. The highlight however is the unique title piece, which appears on two different tracks.
On the down side, I still find the first piece (by the clarinetist Barbaros Erkose) disappointing, even after repeated listening. Moreover, the clarinet is over modulated in a few spots. With these exceptions, the music and the sound quality are both superb. This disc will reward the listener with a wealth of detail when played on a good audio system.
Rating: -
This still certainly rates as jazz, but just as much it gives the impression of a visit to... --well, uh, a cafe in Astrakan. Especially atmospheric is the clarinet play of sideman Barbaros Erkose, which produces just the right emphasis of exotica to complement Brahem's virtuostic oud play (is there a greater student of this instrument now recording?) and the unobtrusive backing percussion (bendir and darbouka). This is a tuneful but rather laid back kind of jazz, occasionally giving itself over to flashes of brilliant play. It sounds more than just a bit mysterious, but it is a naked mystery. Stripped of the kind of mood cliches one often hears in the soundtracks to bad films about Arabic lands, this music reveals some of the emotional secrecies that can be found at the heart of the cultures it strives to portray.
Rating: -
I own around 1200 CDs, and I consider myself an expert in international music. This one CD stands out among a very few in my collection. I am going to try to describe it, but I won't be able to do justice; I can't find the right words. This fully instrumental CD (no singing) takes you to a magical land and recreates centuries of middle eastern imagery in the mind of the listener. This is not a CD like "Simon Shaheen"'s modernistic approach to Middle Eastern music. This is "traditional Middle East" with perfect harmony and perfect performance. I have played this CD hundreds of times since I purchased it. And I still love it like the very first time.
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