Fairuz - Modern Favorites (2001)

«Born and educated in Beirut, Fayrouz (alternative spellings: Fairuz, Fairouz, Feyrouz, Feiruz) began her musical career as a chorus member at the Lebanese Radio Station. In the late 1950s her talent as a singer became fully acknowledged. Met with unprecedented enthusiasm, Fayrouz's early songs featured the singer's distinct vocal timbre and lyrics expressing romantic love and nostalgia for village life. They meshed with a delicate orchestral blend in which certain Arab instruments figured prominently but which also subtly incorporated European instruments and European popular dance rythms.

She also sometimes sang adaptations Arab folk tunes. By the early 1960s Fayrouz was already one of the main attractions of the annual Baalbeck Festivals and a celebrety not only in Lebanon but throughout the Arab world. The dissemination of hundreds of songs, many musical plays and several films had widened her audience to include Arabs living in Europe and the Americas.

During most of her singing career, Fayrouz was part of a three-member team which included the two Rahbani brothers. Generally, her lyrics were written by Mansour Rahbani, and the tunes were composed and arranged by his brother 'Assi, Fayrouz's former husband. Fayrouz's songs owe a great deal to the musical and poetic genius of these two Lebanese artists. In recent years they have also reflected the composing talent of Ziad Rahbani, Fayrouz's son. In addition, they testify to Fayrouz's broad musical background, which encompasses Christian liturgical forms as well as the secular traditions of Arab music.

The Fayrouz-Rahbani legacy is a peculiarly twentieth-century cultural phenomenon. During the early postwar decades, most urban communities in the Arab world underwent rapid expansion, partly because of an influx of population from the rural areas. The city of Beirut in particular had absorbed a substantial number of people whose ethnic and social roots went back to various Lebanese villages, especially those in the mountainous regions of central and northern Lebanon. Politically and socially influential, this segment provided fertile ground for the rise of a new artistic tradition - music, dance, poetry, fashions, handicrafts - whose context was unmistakably urban but whose ration was folk and rural.» (alMasriq, from Fairouz: legend and Legacy – click for much more about Fairouz)

Official Site: http://fairuzonline.com/

Link in comments

Putumayo Presents Arabic Groove (2001)

«If you want to know what's rocking the kasbah these days, Arabic Groove is where to start. From Algeria, Morocco, Egypt an other Arab countries we hear the dance-floor grooves and detect the influence of Western pop, notably funk, hip-hop and electronica. This of course makes sense from the Arabic point of view as those artists now get played alongside Westerners.

In 1996 Khaled had a number one hit in France with "Aisha" and since then groups like alabina and Natacha Atlas have further popularized Arabic music. In the club scene there's Transglobal Underground and others.

This album kicks off with a new single by Abdel ali Slimani, noted frontman for Jah Wobble's Invaders of the Heart. There's no space between cuts so you really get the sense of a programmed sequence for the dance-floor. Arabic Groove stands as one of the best sequenced and consistently great compilations ever.» (Muzikifan)

Link in comments

Abaji - Oriental Voyage (2003)

«Musicien d’origine arménienne né au Liban et exilé en France, Abaji est un déraciné heureux. Son blues, ponctué d’éclats de rire et nourri de nomadismes, se moque des frontières comme des catégorisations. Ce troubadour des bédouins s’accompagne d’instruments insolites qu’il manie en virtuose. Si le oud et le bouzouki qu’il maîtrise n’ont rien de stupéfiant, sa guitare sitar ou son saxophone de roseau sont déjà beaucoup plus hallucinants.

Son maître mot est l’improvisation: avant un concert ou même avant de monter sur scène il ne sait rien de ce qu’il va jouer, chaque instant est unique. Une flûte à la bouche, une guitare entre les mains et des percussions de grenailles nouées aux mollets, Abaji est un homme-orchestre totalement indépendant. S’il se passe sans problème de musiciens d’accompagnement, ce solitaire n’aime rien tant que croiser son chemin avec celui de virtuoses aux univers riches et ancrés comme ceux du roi du doudouk arménien Djivan Gasparyan, du maalem gnaoua marocain Majid Bekkas, ou encore du percussionniste indien Ramesh Shotham» (TV5Monde)

«Una delle grandi scoperte musicali del best seller Desert Blues 2, definito dalla stampa il trovatore dei beduini, Abaji è nato a Beirut da una nota famiglia di musicisti le cui radici culturali sono un’affascinante miscela armena, libanese, turca, greca e siriana. Per questo avvincente viaggio in Oriente Abaji è andato alla ricerca delle sue origini riuscendo a distillare un caleidoscopio di sonorità ispirate dalle sconfinate distese del deserto, dalle fertili vallate e dai rigogliosi colori delle oasi suonando strumenti assolutamente inusuali: un antico liuto a due manici da cui sgorgano melodie simili a quelle dell’arpa, tamboura, vari strumenti a fiato, un sax di bambù e un incrocio tra chitarra e sitar costruito appositamente per lui, talvolta suonato con l'archetto alla maniera mediorientale. In Oriental Voyage c'è anche spazio per il rembetiko greco, per le musiche tradizionali che accompagnano le poesie arabe che Abaji interpreta con una voce straordinaria e per le percussioni che serpeggiano sinuosamente in alcuni brani. Musicista di culto in Francia e Germania, Abaji è un’imperdibile proposta musicale del sud del Mediterraneo.» (Evolutionmusic)

English Review here

Link in comments

Rabih Abou-Khalil (with The Balanescu String Quartet) - Arabian Waltz (1996)

«Arabian Waltz is the pinnacle of Rabih Abou-Khalil's achievement as a composer and arranger. It is a sublime fusion of jazz, Middle Eastern traditional music, and Western classical. In addition to Abou-Khalil on oud (the Arabic lute), Michel Godard on the tuba and the serpent (the tuba's antique kinsman), and Nabil Khaiat on frame drums, the album also features the Balanescu String Quartet instead of the usual trumpet or sax. The presence of the Balanescu might seem to pose a dilemma for the composer: traditional Middle Eastern music uses no harmony but a string quartet is all about harmony. Abou-Khalil achieves a compromise by generally writing the string parts in unison (or in octaves), in effect using the quartet as a single voice, but also letting the quartet split up to play parts in unison with the other instruments or to provide ornamentation. Without surrendering jazziness at all, the presence of the strings makes possible a wondrous atmosphere, almost as if one is listening to the soundtrack of a classy movie set in Beirut or Damascus during the '40s. This feeling is greatest on "Dreams of a Dying City" with its brooding tuba and cello motifs and grave, repeated rhythms. "The Pain After" starts with an impressive tuba solo that turns into a long interlude for tuba and string quartet; sad, slow music that sounds like one of Beethoven's late quartets. Then Abou-Khalil finally enters on oud, bringing a sustained note of wistfulness. Fortunately, beside the darker numbers lie the propulsive drama of "Arabian Waltz" and the bobbing and weaving quirkiness of "Ornette Never Sleeps." Abou-Khalil is known for experimenting with the possibilities his guest musicians bring to his style. In this case, the guests have inspired the host to reach a new height and maybe even a new style. This recording suits every fan of world music, jazz, classical, or just good music.» (AMG)

Link in comments