Track Listing

1. Badhra
2. Kashf
3. Houdouth
4. Talwin
5. Waqt
6. Uns
7. Al Hizam Al Dhahbi
8. Qurb
9. Mazad
10. Kernow
11. Hulmu Rabia

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46412 in Music
• Released on: 2000-01-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds

From Jazziz
Middle East-meets-West fusions, heralded under a jazz banner, are nearly always scary. Scary in the sense that, instead of the musicians synthesizing their cultural traditions in a magical gestalt, the result is usually a watered-down pastiche of the kind of easy-listening exotica typically peddled by audiophile labels or stacked next to the patchouli bin at the incense shop. It's embarrassing, especially if you know how mindbending the real stuff can be. Anouar Brahem, who plays the Arabic stringed instrument called the oud, isn't scary or embarrassing. But the genre in which he participates is so suspect it takes a while to appreciate the value of his latest album. Recorded with master Brit improvisors John Surman (soprano saxophone and bass clarinet) and Dave Holland (bass), Thimar is never less than beautiful, and is often haunting in its subtle chemistry, which quietly evokes glimmers of blues moods within stately Arabic-themed progressions. Surman's soprano playing fails to fully erase thoughts of Kenny G, but Holland's exquisite touch both plucking and bowing repeatedly compels attention. The bassist lends a structural integrity to these pieces that makes it hard to dismiss them as kitsch. Still, there's something so consistently softcore about this concept that the album seems almost destined to be used as background music.

--- Steve Dollar, JAZZIZ Magazine Copyright © 2000, Milor Entertainment, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Sublime recording. Transcendent.
So many beautiful and haunting passages throughout this recording and the deep source which this taps into is unmatched in any of Brahem's other works before or since.

The second piece "Kashf" is my personal favorite. "Kashf" the Arabic word meaning intuition, insight and discovery of unseen/unknown things, certainly transports one to a place they may never have visited before. And if this was all it would still be a worthwhile album, but there's so much more. The very next piece, deepens one's mood even further until the fourth where the Holland's double bass and Brahem's oud dance a musical duet. The lack of percussion is an important unifying thread through the tracks and allows the mind to fly and wander with the relaxed music.

This is music that can bring one to tears. No matter what you find in the reviews it's still indescribable and needs to be experienced. Unfortunately this trio of musicians hasn't recorded together again, which makes this even more special. A sublime recording of a very special synergy between the players and their instruments available for us to enjoy over and over.

Do yourself a favor, skip something else, and get this!

Enjoy.

Music rated "R" for emotional maturity
If there is an earthquake and I have to grab something and run, it will be this CD. No music has ever touched my heart like this album, especially the second song. Do not buy this CD if your heart is not ready for a huge surge of emotions, and people listening to this album while driving may be subject to police charges for "driving under heavy influences". It may also be accused of causing insomnia, addiction and excessive memories (happy and sad), among many other things. Rated "R" for emotional maturity.

Music for the soul
Thimar, by John Surman, Anouar Brahem and Dave Holland is one of my most favorous CDs. It is very good music for relaxing and for letting your thoughts wander and for dreaming away. It is definately music for the soul!

I have heard Brahem in concert several times and he must be one of the worlds best Oud (Lutt) players. I first heard him with Jan Garbarek, then I heard him in a fantastic concert in Oslo and imidiately went out and bought his first three CDs!

His music is based on the traditiones of north Africa and is maybe best classified as world music. But he has brought the music further by bringing in world class jazz musicans. In the CD "Khomsa" this did not work to good for me, maybe because the warmth of the oud was often lost in the other instruments.

This is one of his best CDs and maybe even better than his first two ones. The music is very contemplative and reminds me a bit of some of the best records of Ravi Shankar and classical indian music, but still easyer listening than ragas. I always brings this music when I travel and it is very often people get very enthusiastic about it. I usually return home without my tape. Quite many people love it and I must be one of the main pushers of his music! It is great when it is so easy to give pleasure to others!

Try to listen to it on this page, it may be the right music for you to!