Blue Camel

Rabih Abou-Khalil | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 25, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Enja
• ASIN: B000005C9N
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,540 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Percussive delights abound, December 30, 2002

By 

Ian Muldoon (Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blue Camel (Audio CD)

This programme of music begins with the solo voice of Mr Charlie Mariano's alto saxophone which cry is reminiscent of the dawnbreak call to prayer from the mosque. SAHARA is a meditative piece and features as well a fine solo by Mr Wheeler on flugelhorn in which the lower and middle registers of that beautiful instrument dominate. Nevertheless, it is the rhythms and percussion that provides the dominant interest. On track two, on TSARKA, there is almost a South American rhythmic feel to the piece perhaps generated by the power of the conga beat. Its relentless power allows Mr Mariano and later, Mr Wheeler, to soar in their respective and complimentary solos. Throughout, as well as soloing, Mr Abou-Khalil adds to the rhythmic mix of the set. The pattern tends to be: a rich and varied and intriguing tapestry of rhythmic effects is laid down by four musicians whilst the other three develop their harmonic and melodic stories over them. Personally, I love the rhythms created, I delight in the sounds of the 11 stringed oud, and find the solos of Mr Mariano and Mr Wheeler a superb fillip.
After five years of living with this music, thoroughly recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A milestone, April 11, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (Salem, OR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Camel (Audio CD)

Blue Camel is a real breakthrough album. The construction of Arab music forms and American jazz, combined with a great blend of Mid-Eastern and Western instrumentation, is simply ingenius in and of itself, aside from the brilliant, virtuoso performances displayed on this album. This is the perfect, early portrayal of a pioneer, multi-ethnic style of music, and probably the best of the early albums of Rabih Abou-Khalil.

The diversity of styles is amazing, ranging from the moody, deep soundscapes of "Sahara" and "Beirut" to the jazzier, less involved songs like "Rabou-Abou-Kabou." The instrumentation, particularly the flugelhorn and trumpet, add a great texture to the sound.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An unbelievably powerful mystical experience, October 20, 1999

By 

Luis Manuel Belmonte (Caracas, Venezuela) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Camel (Audio CD)

In 1993 I had the luck of listening to Rabih Abou Khalil in a Jazz Festival in Taipei, where I bought this record. Since then on, it became one of my favorite albums. Blue Camel is full of passion and mysticism, an unbelievably powerful mystical experience blending the flavor of Arabian Nights and Jazz with such a skill that is difficult to describe it, unless you let yourself to be dragged away by its strength and magic. Performance is flawless, compositions bewitching, the atmosphere is like the spell of an Efrit or a Genie. A experience you will enjoy.