Rima Khcheich is a talented singer from Lebanon. Here she teams up with stellar Dutch jazz saxophonist Yuri Honing and his trio in a live performance. Highly recommended: their Arabic version of Bjork's "Isobel" is alone worth the price of the cd. They perform versions of several classic Arabic songs ("Emta Hata'araf", "La Enta Habibi", "Ma Dam Tihib Betenkour lieh") which are re-arranged to include compelling jazz improvisations.
A very subdued album that rewards repeated listening. Brahem's oud playing does not dominate, but blends with the piano and accordion, with echoes of Bill Evans, Philip Glass, Schubert and Chopin.
Anouar Brahem : oud François Couturier : piano Jean Louis Matinier : accordion
Voyage du Sahar - 2006
Very similar album to Le Pas du Chat Noir
Anouar Brahem : oud François Couturier : piano Jean Louis Matinier : accordion
The Astounding Eyes Of Rita - 2009 Brahem returns here to a more energetic style, with playing and compositions reminiscent of Astrakan Café and Thimar.
Anouar Brahem : oud Klaus Gesing : bass clarinet Björn Meyer : bass Khaled Yassine : darbouka, bendir
Madar - 1994 This is Garbarek's record, and it contains some compelling music. However, Garbarek has an unusual and strident tone of the saxophone, which is not everyone's cup of tea.
Jan Garbarek : tenor and soprano saxophones Anouar Brahem : oud Ustad Shaukat Hussain : tabla
There are also some bootlegs of Anouar Brahem concerts floating around teh internets. I don't want to link to them directly, but the concerts are:
Live In Salvator Kirche Church at Duisburg, Germany Live at Teatro Sociale, Bellinzona, Switzerland, 1998 (with John Surman and Dave Holland) Zürich International Jazz Festival 1993 (with Jan Garbarek and Shaukat Hussain)
Abboushi has been playing the buzuq starting at the National Conservatory of Music in Ramallah, Palestine, and continuing in New York City. He also is an accomplished jazz pianist, having studied at William Paterson University. His band Shusmo has a self-titled release that is well worth getting, with a great mix of original tunes and improvisations. Clarinetist Lefteris Bournias is a fiery complement to the more introspective musings of Abboushi's buzuq.
All of Brahem's available releases are on ECM. He has a simpler, more contemplative style than most oud players, and has on occasion shown his more traditional side. He rarely plays microtonal maqamat.
Selected discography:
Barzakh - 1991
With spare instumentation, much of the album is quite understated, though not without flights of virtuosity.
Conte de l'incroyable amour - 1992 One of Brahem's more traditional-sounding records, there is a lot of nice playing here by everyone, though the compositions do not stand out as Brahem's best.
