Thimar

From Jazziz
Middle East-meets-West fusions, heralded under a jazz banner, are nearly always scary. Scary in the sense that, instead of the musicians synthesizing their cultural traditions in a magical gestalt, the result is usually a watered-down pastiche of the kind of easy-listening exotica typically peddled by audiophile labels or stacked next to the patchouli bin at the incense shop. It's embarrassing, especially if you know how mindbending the real stuff can be. Anouar Brahem, who plays the Arabic stringed instrument called the oud, isn't scary or embarrassing. But the genre in which he participates is so suspect it takes a while to appreciate the value of his latest album. Recorded with master Brit improvisors John Surman (soprano saxophone and bass clarinet) and Dave Holland (bass), Thimar is never less than beautiful, and is often haunting in its subtle chemistry, which quietly evokes glimmers of blues moods within stately Arabic-themed progressions. Surman's soprano playing fails to fully erase thoughts of Kenny G, but Holland's exquisite touch both plucking and bowing repeatedly compels attention. The bassist lends a structural integrity to these pieces that makes it hard to dismiss them as kitsch. Still, there's something so consistently softcore about this concept that the album seems almost destined to be used as background music.

Tracks:

Badhra
Kashf
Houdouth
Talwin
Waqt
Uns
Al Hizam Al Dhahbi
Qurb
Mazad
Kernow
Hulmu Rabia

Customer Reviews:

shear beauty.......2007-02-16

Thimar is musically complex enough to retain an ongoing facsination while the virtuosity supports the inspired artistry without ego.

Sublime recording. Transcendent........2006-02-16

So many beautiful and haunting passages throughout this recording and the deep source which this taps into is unmatched in any of Brahem's other works before or since.

The second piece "Kashf" is my personal favorite. "Kashf" the Arabic word meaning intuition, insight and discovery of unseen/unknown things, certainly transports one to a place they may never have visited before. And if this was all it would still be a worthwhile album, but there's so much more. The very next piece, deepens one's mood even further until the fourth where the Holland's double bass and Brahem's oud dance a musical duet. The lack of percussion is an important unifying thread through the tracks and allows the mind to fly and wander with the relaxed music.

This is music that can bring one to tears. No matter what you find in the reviews it's still indescribable and needs to be experienced. Unfortunately this trio of musicians hasn't recorded together again, which makes this even more special. A sublime recording of a very special synergy between the players and their instruments available for us to enjoy over and over.

Do yourself a favor, skip something else, and get this!

Enjoy.

un viaggio meraviglioso.......2004-08-30

In questo disco ogni musicista, preso singolarmente, non ha bisogno di particolari presentazioni...
Insieme, cosa non sempre scontata, hanno saputo costruire una deliziosa alchimia sonora che mi ha sospinto in un viaggio meraviglioso con lievissima brezza soave.
Qui "comandano" anima ed istinto, non ho dubbi: un capolavoro.

wonderful disk.......2004-05-22

This is one of my favorites disks. You'll really like it... for sure.

Beautiful..........2002-10-11

Thimar touches the soul and the mind as well. Not a single redundant node is played, but those that are there all have meaning. The whole music is airy (with a lot of reverb thanks to ECM :-) and lacks Rabih Abou-Khalil's agressivity but not his energy. John Surman and Dave Holland are both great.

Tracks:

Badhra
Kashf
Houdouth
Talwin
Waqt
Uns
Al Hizam Al Dhahbi
Qurb
Mazad
Kernow
Hulmu Rabia

Customer Reviews:

world class.......2003-11-23

Intimate, complex, emotional, fun, exquisite musicianship ... Anouar Brahem has it all. Also check out Astrakan Café and Barzakh, two equally satisfying albums - less jazzy, more arabian music.

Meditative and muscular.......1999-08-05

How can you go wrong with Dave Holland anyway? The lack of percussion gives everything a studied, chamber-music feel but Holland keeps a swing and solidity under it. Brahem's composiions are gorgeous and lush and Surman sounds wonderfully oblique -- especially oblique -- banish all thoughts of Garbarek's cheesy sound intruding in on Zakir Hussain's "Making Music" (for example).

World music at the best.......1999-07-30

It's real World music with 3 great performers and a talentuous composer

Welcome into the smoky wine bar of intimacy........1999-01-15

This sedate jamming session brings together three diverse cultures under the compositions of Anour Brahem. We are introduced to their instruments with the track, Badhra, preparing us for the magic to come and later, the perfect marriage of instruments with the relaxing melody of Mazad. Each musician has a turn to spellbound us with their talents. Waqt begins with an intro by Surman while Qurb gives us the best of Dave Holland. Brahem manages to throw himself into a Middle-Eastern frenzy as Al Hizam Al Dhahbi has you up and dancing. When they come together, Uns is the result, sounding like an improvised set as they play off eachother, welcoming you into the smoky wine bar of intimacy. At the end of it all, Hulmu Rabia leaves you with a melancholy feel, wishing for more, therefore setting your CD player on a loop for another round trip of THIMAR.

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