Anouar Brahem - The Astounding Eyes Of Rita
EAC+LOG+CUE | WV: 457 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: ECM # 2075 | Country/Year: Germany 2009
Genre: Jazz, Folk, New Age | Style: Middle Eastern Folk, Ethnic Fusion, Jazz

From the very first cut here, "The Lover of Beirut", Brahem's fascinating blend of traditional Eastern-flavored tonalities and his very jazz-like sense of free rhythms mix, in an astonishingly instinctual and intimate way, with Gesing's moody clarinet, their melodic lines at times doubling before breaking free to bend and swerve off into a melodic maze before slowly returning to their intricate Byzantine dance.

This collection from the singer, songwriter and New Wave icon featurs 37 classic tracks from his A&M years including 'Steppin' Out', 'Is She Really Going Out With Him?', 'Right And Wrong', 'It's Different For Girls', 'Nineteen Forever' and many more.

Just because nothing on banjo/guitar master Tony Furtado's 14th album couldn't have been included on his last half dozen doesn't make it any less enjoyable or edgy. Deep Water is another predominantly low-key yet never easygoing set of ballads and midtempo folk-rockers, with an emphasis on folk. The tracks are a little shorter and tighter this time, yet nonetheless sizzle like a dry fuse threatening to detonate its bomb. Most never do – however, the anticipation creates tension that fuels this darkly tuneful music. Vocals aren't Furtado's strong suit, yet he sounds loose and comfortable, applying his dusky, five-o'clock-shadow voice to songs that make the most of his less-is-more singing and deceptively intricate guitar and banjo work.

Corelli's Op. 5 Violin Sonatas have always been admired by chamber music fans; there are a couple of good recordings of them already available. But this new one by Baroque specialist and virtuoso Andrew Manze and harpsichordist Richard Egarr presents the sonatas in such a bright, exciting, and improvisatory light that they seem brand new. During the composer's lifetime, these sonatas were widely played and tremendously influential; there's a good chance that it was assumed that virtuosi took what was written on the page as a starting point for embellishing and sheer showing off.