Tunisian-born oud performer/vocalist Dhafer Youssef attains a happy medium while integrating the oud (an Arabic lute instrument) with jazzy grooves and wide-ranging improvisational forums. On this outing, the artist crafts an appealing worldbeat/jazz scenario partly due to his nimble plucking and mood-evoking unison choruses with trumpeter Markus Stockhausen. There's also a drum'n'bass element here, as the leader utilizes the talents of ex-Living Colours rhythmic aces Will Calhoun (drums) and Doug Wimbish (bass). Jazz guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel adds textural patterns to many of these pieces while embarking on a pleasant mainstream jazz-based solo passage on the piece entitled "Farha." Youssef also displays a multi-octave vocal range on several tracks -- as he renders wordless vocals that often conjure up notions of religiously inclined mantras. A good portion of this affair features lightly rumbling percussion vamps intertwined with North African modalities and alternating dialogue among the soloists. A nice effort that ages well upon repeated spins. – Glenn Astarita
Tracks
01. Mandakini (Dhafer Youssef)
02. Yabay (Wolfgang Muthspiel / Dhafer Youssef)
03. Electric Sufi (Dhafer Youssef)
04. Oil on Water (Dhafer Youssef)
05. La Prière de l’absent (Dhafer Youssef)
06. Man of Wool (Dhafer Youssef)
07. La Nuit Sacrée (Dhafer Youssef)
08. Nouba (Dhafer Youssef)
09. Farha (Dhafer Youssef)
10. Nafha (Wolfgang Muthspiel / Dhafer Youssef)
11. Al-Hallal (Dhafer Youssef)
12. Sural (Dhafer Youssef)
13. Langue Muette (Dhafer Youssef)
DIETER ILG acoustic bass
DEEPAK RAM Bansuri
WILL CALHOUN drums, loops
MINO CINELU drums, percussion, effects
DOUG WIMBISH electric bass, electronics
WOLFGANG MUTHSPIEL guitars
RODERICK PACKE ambient sounds
MARKUS STOCKHAUSEN trumpet, flugelhorn
DHAFER YOUSSEF vocals, oud, oud-body percussion, Ambient sounds
Recorded november, december 2000 at Fifth House Studio Brooklyn, NY
ENJA RECORDS ENJ – 9412 2