Markus Stockhausen a

Dhafer Youssef - Abu Nawas Rhapsody (2010) {Jazzland Recordings 0602527295565}
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© 2010 Dhafer Youssef / Jazzland Recordings | 0602527295565
Spiritual Sufi / World Jazz Fusion / Ethnic Jazz / Mysterious / Oud

Acclaimed for his fusion of world music with jazz, vocalist and oud player Dhafer Youssef now focuses more on the acoustic side of jazz with an exciting new quartet that includes pianist Tigran Hamasyan, bassist Chris Jennings and drummer Mark Guiliana. This new recording contrasts the sense of calm and serenity created by Dhafer's mesmeric voice and oud playing with Guiliana's trademark combination of energetic rhythmic multiple layers. The very special mix of musical elements and creative talent produces a new and original soundscape. With the musicians' commitment to exploring and experimenting paired with their subtlety and courage to be silent, it is sure to catch the ear of any attentive listener.

In his second ECM appearance (following a critically-acclaimed duo recording with Markus Stockhausen) pianist Florian Weber leads a strong cast through a programme of his compositions and sketches. Whether paying tribute to mentor Lee Konitz on “Honestlee”, impressionistically conveying the glittering “Melody of a Waterfall” or generating impactful drama out of fragments of sound on “Butterfly Effect”, Weber continually draws fresh responses from his players. “I wanted this project to be as open as possible”, he says. “It’s the idea of exploration that is important here, and the differences between the players.” The strong, grounded bass of Linda May Han Oh contrasts strikingly with Nasheet Waits’s fleet, fluid drumming, setting up new contexts for Ralph Alessi’s elegantly inventive trumpet and the leader’s highly creative piano playing. Lucent Waters was recorded at Studios La Buissonne.

Antoine Hervé (20 January 1959 in Paris) is a French composer and pianist. Hervé studied composition at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique. Between 1987 and 1989 he was director of the French National Jazz Orchestra. He has played with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Chet Baker, Randy Brecker, Cab Calloway, Louis Sclavis, Martial Solal, Michel Portal, Carla Bley, Didier Lockwood and Daniel Humair.

Stefano Scodanibbio (1956-2012) was a musician active on many fronts. As an innovative virtuoso bassist and a pioneer of extended technique for his instrument he collaborated with composers including Luigi Nono, Iannis Xenakis, John Cage, Brian Ferneyhough and Terry Riley, inspiring each of them to new works. With Riley, with Markus Stockhausen and with others, he gave concerts of improvised music. He founded the Rassegna di Nuova Musica Festival in Macerata, his Italian hometown, and directed it for more than 30 years. He taught master classes from Darmstadt to Stanford. And as a composer his works for strings, for contrabass in particular were heard around the world: they were challenging pieces which – as Irvine Arditi wryly notes – avoided “traditional avant-garde trends”.

"Continuum" is one of the top albums of the '80s and a leading contender for best ECM release of that decade. The sound is extraordinary as is typical with many other Manfred Eicher produced ECM recordings. Bruninghaus' compositions are catchy and his keyboard work is exquisitely tasteful.

The annals of music history are overflowing with gifted guitar players whose egos prevented them from reaching their full potential: rather than being content to be exceptional members of a band, they instead create unexceptional records as leaders in vain attempts to prove their worth as solo artists.

Dhafer Youssef's music is rooted in the Sufi tradition and other mystical music but has always been open to ideas from other musical cultures, including jazz. With his complex compositions and deeply affecting singing, Youssef is one of the most impressive voices to emerge in this musical field for several years. Born in Tunisia in 1967, composer, singer, and oud player Dhafer Youssef has been living and working in Vienna since 1990 with such artists as Sainkho Namchylak, Paolo Fresu, Arto Tuncboyacian, Linda Sharrock, Wolfgang Puschnig, Christian Muthspiel, Jamey Haddad, Iva Bittova, Tom Cora and other great improvisers.