Thimar

A strikingly attractive "transcultural" project initiated by Tunisian oud virtuoso Anouar Brahem, who is both an innovator and a traditionalist in the deepest sense (he has been credited with "restoring the sovereignty of the oud" in Tunisian music). There is no glib fusion of traditions on Thimar but rather a coming together of three very distinctive musicians who sacrifice none of their individuality in the search for common ground. Arab classical music and jazz are the reference points here, but Anouar Brahem, John Surman and Dave Holland meet as improvisors not limited by genre definition.

It's been four long years since British composer and saxophonist John Surman issued a new recording for his longtime home label, ECM. In a loose way, The Spaces in Between is the mirror image of 2003's Free and Equal, recorded with drummer Jack DeJohnette and the London Brass (though that record was a mirror of the first teaming of Surman with his longtime collaborator, double bassist Chris Laurence and the then-new Trans4mation String Quartet). Surman has been writing, arranging for, and performing with Trans4mation since that time. Whereas Coruscating was far more formal in structure, and its textures and colorings plotted in advance, here there are more opportunities for the strings to improvise and add more freely to the mix…

The Tunisian oud genius has done it again. Anouar Brahem has issued only five records under his own name over the past decade, each more adventurous than the last, without compromising his original vision: for the music of his region to meet with the other music of Africa and Asia and create a delirious sound that is equal thirds past, present, and future, along the precipice of historical lineage.Astrakan Café, the follow-up to his brilliant Thimar, is a smaller-sounding recording that reaches farther into the deep crags of the Balkans. Despite the journeying these musicians do here, they never stray far from the takht, a small ensemble capable of improvising to the point of drunken ecstasy. Listening through Astrakan Café, you can hear the gypsy flamenco tied deeply to Indian ragas and even a kind of Eastern jazz.

British saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer John Surman turned 80 in 2024. During six decades of laudable achievement, he has recorded and performed in dozens of configurations from solo to big band, chamber quintet to orchestra conductor. Words Unspoken is Surman's first ECM date since 2018's trio offering, Invisible Threads. It marks a reunion with the remarkable, Oslo-based American vibraphonist Rob Waring. Award-winning British guitarist Rob Luft (whose solo albums on Edition have won international praise) and Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen balance the quartet. The bandleader brought some sketches into the studio and passed them out without specific instructions as to who would play what when. He wanted the recording to sound like the band created it spontaneously by wedding modern jazz, avant improv, and folk music in the moment.

British saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer John Surman turned 80 in 2024. During six decades of laudable achievement, he has recorded and performed in dozens of configurations from solo to big band, chamber quintet to orchestra conductor. Words Unspoken is Surman's first ECM date since 2018's trio offering, Invisible Threads. It marks a reunion with the remarkable, Oslo-based American vibraphonist Rob Waring. Award-winning British guitarist Rob Luft (whose solo albums on Edition have won international praise) and Norwegian drummer Thomas Strønen balance the quartet. The bandleader brought some sketches into the studio and passed them out without specific instructions as to who would play what when. He wanted the recording to sound like the band created it spontaneously by wedding modern jazz, avant improv, and folk music in the moment.

It's been four long years since British composer and saxophonist John Surman issued a new recording for his longtime home label, ECM. In a loose way, The Spaces in Between is the mirror image of 2003's Free and Equal, recorded with drummer Jack DeJohnette and the London Brass (though that record was a mirror of the first teaming of Surman with his longtime collaborator, double bassist Chris Laurence and the then-new Trans4mation String Quartet). Surman has been writing, arranging for, and performing with Trans4mation since that time. Whereas Coruscating was far more formal in structure, and its textures and colorings plotted in advance, here there are more opportunities for the strings to improvise and add more freely to the mix…