Anouar Brahem; Jan Garbarek; Shaukat Hussain: Madar [VINYL]

Madar powerfully captures the only recorded coming together of these respective masters of their distinctive instruments: Shaukat Hussain on tabla, Anouar Brahem on oud and saxophonist Jan Garbarek. "Manfred [Eicher] proposed that we might invite Shaukat for a session with Anouar," Jan Garbarek has remembered in connection to how the album came into existence. Anouar Brahem has commented on the session's spontaneity, simply recalling the producer "saying 'Let's try it and see what happens.'" What happened? Cultural backgrounds were blended seamlessly and fluidly, a combination musically translating to some of the most evocative improvised landscapes in sound that still sound fresh today. Or in the words of Jazztimes magazine, from the year of the album's release: "What results is a wondrous, relaxed setting in which the distinctive ethnic imprints of the players weave together without forcing the cross-cultural issue or diluting the integrity of the parts. Here, Norway and The Middle East sound like neighbours with a common cause". Originally recorded in 1992 and released in 1994, the album was produced by Manfred Eicher. The album is now released on vinyl for the first time ever as part of the Luminessence series, arriving in a 2-LP Tip-on gatefold. This is precisely the kind of boundless, startlingly open music that makes it regrettable that the term "world music" has become such a dog's breakfast. Three musicians improvise here, all of whom transcend the boundaries of the traditions they come from and yet always keep this origin as the reason for their music. The result is an almost enlightened three-way dialogue between the continents, a celebration of the special due to a great mutual respect and an intelligent and sensitive collective understanding. An overwhelming art of understanding. - Peter Ruedi, Die Weltwoche, 1994