Customer Reviews

Barzakh

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let me state from the beginning that anything you're fortunate to find by Anouar Brahem is going to be excellent. This man is one of the most talented, consistently tasteful musicians around. He is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, but his main instrument is the oud - the lute of the Arabic music world - and that's what he plays on this recording, accompanied simply and beautifully by Bechir Selmi on violin and Lassad Hosni on percussion. All of the compositions here - based on traditional Arabic music forms - are by Brahem, except for `Barzakh' (composed by Brahem and Selmi); and `Souga' and `Bou Naouara' (composed by Hosni).

There are slow, moderate, and fast-paced pieces here - most are relatively short, with a couple of moderately long pieces and one lengthy one. The musical ideas and themes are developed intelligently, with grace and incredible beauty - and none of the faster-paced passages give the feeling that the players are utilizing the tempo simply to impress the listener. They allow the music to take them where it will, with no unnecessary side trips or embellishments - but even with the sparse instrumentation (or perhaps because of it), each piece is full and complete.

ECM has a long-standing reputation for releasing music that refuses to be rammed into the corner of a single genre - BARZAKH is an outstanding example of that freedom of thought. This is a recording that can be appreciated by almost anyone - fans of world/ethnic music (for obvious reasons); jazz (taqsim is the Arabic term for improvisation around an established theme, an important aspect of these pieces); and classical (for the Arabic classical elements in this music are strong). The recording quality, as in every ECM release I've ever heard, is exceptional and `trick'-free, presenting the music to the listener with as few barriers as possible.

This is a truly outstanding recording - and one of my favorites of any genre.

Anouar Brahem and his Oud continue to make wonderfully emotive music of great depth. At times pensive and melancholy, at others upbeat, he achieves something in music that is ineffable and all too rare. I highly recommend ANYTHING by him, but I prefer this album, with "Le conte de l'incroyable amour" in second place.

If you are a fan of ethnic music or of string instruments in general, you would do well to check this out. Lute and Guitar players alike stand to learn a lot from Brahem.

In this CD, we discover a great inspired composer. The base of the music is arabic but it's opened to all kind of other musics, specially the Meditranean ones. The violonist is one of the best in the arabic world. Listen to 2nd track, and the 8th you'll understand what deep is this music.

I originally bought this CD for my partner as the one he had had developed track grooves from overplaying. But now, I listen to it more than him - when I simply need to wind down, calm myself, transport myself, and especially at bed time when sleep doesn't always come easily. Highly recommend as a 'must-have' in any collection.

"One of the ironies of the current vogue for so-called world musics is that the adventurous listener often finds himself championing forms exotic to his ear which are, in their true context, fundamentally conservative." (-- Steve Lake in the original liner notes)

While I don't know my oud music well enough to know if this is astonishing or breathtaking, it is a very pleasant listen -- meditative or sensuous depending on the listener's mood. The pieces are mostly short and well-composed, and the recording upholds ECM's reputation for clarity and simplicity -- oud, violin and goblet drums, without any post-production to speak of.

It's certainly a virtuoso performance to my ears.

Like the complex and beautiful calligraphy that adorns the cover, Barzakh is refined and virtuosic, yet intricate enough to really focus the listener. Highly recommended.

During the 1980s, the Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem was a forward-thinking member of his local scene, but it was with his signing to ECM in 1990 that he made his international breakthrough and came to distinguish himself in the jazz world. BARZAKH, his first release for the label, features solo pieces as well as collaborations with Bechir Selmi on violin and Lassaad Hosni on percussion.

The majority of tracks here are Brahem performing solo: "Raf Raf", "Sadir", "Ronda", "La Nuit des yeux", "Hou", "Sarandib", "La Belvédère assiége" and "Qaf". "Barzakh" is for violin and oud, while "Souga" and "Bou Naouara" are for solo tabla. Only on "Parfum de gitane" and "Kerkenah" do we hear the entire trio.

The musicianship here is undeniable, but I listen to this a bit less than other Anouar Brahem discs because I prefer hearing Brahem in collaboration with other musicians, and BARZAKH is dominated by solo pieces which can seem inconsequential (though "Ronda" is very memorable). Still, this is a pleasant album, and fans of Brahem's later effort ASTRAKAN CAFE will want to seek BARZAKH out for its performance of the splendid tune "Parfum de gitane", played at a faster, more fiery pace than on the 2000 album (though both are strong in their own way).

I listen to this over and over again. It has awesome moody modal world improvisationally inspired pieces throughout the album. Great for the times when I need to unwind from work, hang out before dinner with my beloved, and so one.
Get your copy today.

After visiting an impressive concert of Anouar Brahem with John Surman and Dave Holland at NSJF 2011, I purchased this cd, the first record of mr. Brahem on ECM. The album is titled Barzakh, similar to the second song on the album, I am not aware of the meaning of this word.
This album offers a varied landscape of relaxing, intense, melancholic and happy music.
The most famous song on the album possibly is Parfum de Gitane (listen to the sample (8) and u will recognize it perhaps).
Highly recommended/

I was introduced to the artist by a friend living in Santa Monica. I walked in her living room and heard the music and instantly had to know who it was (I had not heard of him). I now own three CDs and his music is evocative of other wondrous places far away from North America. It's relaxing and enervating and soothes the soul.

THE FIRST TIME I HEARD BARZAKH I WAS ASTONISHING, I THINK THIS IS THE RIGTH WORD TO DESCRIBE BARZAKH, THERE IS A KIND OF MISPLACED FEELING WHEN YOU LISTEN TO IT, YOU JUST CANNOT FIND THE WORDS, IT IS THAT KIND OF THING THAT DOES NOT NEED NOTHING TO DISCRIBE IT, IF YOU TRY TO DO IT, YOU JUST DON'T GET ENOUGH, THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING WITH NO NAME AFTER LISTENING BARZAKH, JUST FLOWTING AWAY...