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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From MainlyPiano.com, October 16, 2007
"Secret Journey" is Omar Akram's third release on Real Music, and, like his first two CDs (which were released under his first name only), is a vibrant tapestry of musical idioms gathered from around the world as the son of a UN diplomat as well as a world traveler and musical ambassador in his own right. In addition to Omar's acoustic piano and keyboards, his stellar lineup of collaborating musicians includes Charlie Bisharat on violin (one of my all-time favorite musicians!); Greg Karukas' arrangements, additional keyboards, and percussion; Adeshir Farah and Ramon Stagnaro on acoustic guitar; Pedro Eustache on winds; and Ron Wagner on ethnic percussion; Karukas also produced and engineered the album. Most of the tracks are ensemble pieces rather than piano with back-up musicians, and what wonderful music they make together! Soulful with a broad variety of influences, this is truly "world music," as in ethnic music with no specific origin - some is very Latin, some is more Middle Eastern, and all is just great music with universal themes of hope and humanity at its best. I had the opportunity to have several phone conversations with Omar after the release of "Opal Fire" a few years ago, and found him to be very much like his music - warm, optimistic, funny (well, not the music!), and very sincere.
The "journey" begins with "Run Away With Me," a romantic overture with piano, violin, guitar, keyboard washes, and an infectious energy propelled by rhythmic percussion. Who could resist an invitation like this? The title track is darkly mysterious and exotic. As always, Bisharat's violin brings poignance to the beautiful melody and enhances the emotional depth. "Nomadic Rhapsody" is much lighter and dreamier yet maintains a sense of adventure. "Passage of the Heart" is a lush, passionate love song, with guitar and violin merging seamlessly with piano. "Stargazers" begins with the feeling of vast open space. Guitar and violin set the calm, quiet mood, and then piano comes in with the lovely melody. This is a real beauty! "Whispers in the Moonlight" is also a gorgeous piece of musical romance. Warm and intimate, it exudes contentment and peace. "Mirage" is another favorite, with its exotic feeling of mystery and intoxicating rhythm. I also really love "Angel of Hope," a gentle, evocative duet for piano and violin - such a sweet ending for a great musical journey!
With three amazing albums to his credit, Omar Akram should be well on his way to becoming a musical phenomenon. Are you listening, world? Very highly recommended!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
I'm a bit disappointed, October 25, 2007
Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Omar's last two albums and have been impatiently waiting for this one. On Secret Journey, the melody is still there but the music feels "Bond"-ified, in that on this latest release, the percussion has suddenly moved from the background to the foreground, at the expense of the instrumentals which were the shining star of the previous albums. I can't put this one on in the background and use it to stimulate my creativity because it's way too disruptive. The melodies on this one seem rather generic, and although the duduk still makes an occasional apperance, it sounds forcedly married to the piano and guitar pieces rather than a smooth-flowing integrated part of the songs themselves. On its own, Secret Journey is not a bad album per se, but it fails to capture the same beauty of his previous releases.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
PIANIST OMAR AKRAM TURNS HIS GLOBAL ADVENTURES INTO MUSIC ON NEW CD, October 19, 2007
OMAR AKRAM
SECRET JOURNEY
Pianist Omar Akram (known simply as Omar on his previous two CDs) encourages listeners to come with him on an exotic SECRET JOURNEY, an appropriate title for his new album since he grew up traveling around the world as the son of a United Nations diplomat living in such diverse locales as France, Cuba, Afghanistan and the Czech Republic.
With his third contemporary instrumental CD, Omar is quickly becoming one of the most popular of the new instrumentalists in the new age, world music or contemporary instrumental arenas. His music crosses all boundaries and is simply lovely. When you hear this music I think you will agree that it is instantly-accessible and very melodic with especially lovely duets between the piano and acoustic Latin-influenced guitar. That Latin-guitar sound recalls music by Ottmar Liebert or Strunz & Farah (which makes sense guitarist Ardeshir Farah on four tunes). All the musicians are excellent, but especially noteworthy is violinist Charlie Bisharat who is known for playing with new-agers Kitaro and John Tesh.
Akram has said online that: "I want the music to sound multi-cultural but not be tied to any particular country." He definitely accomplishes this. Because he lived in many different countries growing up, and then was smart enough to bring in some of the best current world-music instrumentalists around, his sound is ethnic, world-influenced and exotic, but not culturally-specific.
Many of the song titles hint at global adventures using words such as gypsy, caravan, nomadic and desert. He shows other around-the-world influences on "Seven Secrets" which he has said was influenced by the ancient architectural "Seven Wonders of the World" like the Great Pyramids, but also references all the lost knowledge of past generations.
The album cover is very metaphysical with Omar meditating with his eyes closed while doors open behind him and butterflies swarm everywhere. But the bottomline is that the journey Omar takes listeners on is a worthwhile trip.
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