The new work by Lebanese lutenist Rabih Abou-Khalil inaugurates a new stage after leaving Enja Records, a record label in which he has published practically all of his notable albums from the last two decades, but fortunately he is still accompanied by the musicians who make up the Mediterranean Quintet: Gavino Murgia (soprano sax and voice), Luciano Biondini (accordion), Michel Godard (tuba and bass), Jarrod Cagwin (percussions) and Walter Quintus (sound engineer). He has always surrounded himself with great instrumentalists with whom he has been playing for more than three decades and who he has chosen for their capacity for dialogue in each composition and for providing a particular sound to the pieces he creates. Themes – in this work he delivers a dozen new pieces recorded in Berlin – in which jazz and its musical developments leave him complete freedom of creation, a palette of timbres that range from Arabic scales to sax phrasings. The solos with his lute are prodigiously luminous at one moment, melancholic at others to reach frenetic speeds in the most vital moments of the work. If in his discography we have seen unique folders decorated with cacti, mermaids, feet or fish,... -he has almost never resorted to his own image- now he has chosen an illustration of a native character dressed in a djellaba, slippers and wearing a tarbush or cap , sitting at a table eating watermelon. Its cover serves as a metaphor for the desire for freedom after the Arab Spring and the socio-political changes in North Africa. - lossonidosdelplanetaazul.com
El nuevo trabajo del laudista libanés Rabih Abou-Khalil inaugura una nueva etapa tras abandonar Enja Records, sello discográfico en el que ha publicado la práctica totalidad de sus reseñables discos de las últimas dos décadas, pero afortunadamente le siguen acompañando los músicos que integran la Mediterranean Quintet: Gavino Murgia (saxo soprano y voz), Luciano Biondini (acordeón), Michel Godard (tuba y bajo), Jarrod Cagwin (percusiones) y Walter Quintus (ingeniero de sonido). Siempre se ha rodeado de grandes instrumentistas con los que toca desde hace más de tres lustros y que ha elegido por su capacidad de diálogo en cada composición y por aportar una sonoridad particular a las piezas que crea. Temas –en este trabajo entrega una decena de nuevas piezas grabas en Berlín- en los que el jazz y sus desarrollos musicales le dejan una completa libertad de creación, una paleta de timbres que marchan desde las escalas árabes hasta los fraseos de saxo. Los solos con su laúd resultan prodigiosamente luminosos en un momento, melancólicos en otros para alcanzar velocidades trepidantes en los momentos más viales del trabajo. Si en su discografía hemos visto singulares carpetas decoradas con cactus, sirenas, pies o peces,… -casi nunca ha recurrido a su propia imagen- ahora ha elegido una ilustración de oriundo personaje vestido con una chilaba, babuchas y tocado con un tarbush o gorro, sentado a una mesa comiendo sandía. Tal su portada sirva de metáfora del ansia de libertad tras la primavera árabe y los cambios socio-políticos en el norte de África. - lossonidosdelplanetaazul.com
Tracks
01. Shrilling Chicken4:11
02. When The Dog Bites5:12
03. A Better Tomorrow6:43
04. Banker's Banquet5:32
05. Dreams Of A Dying CIty5:37
06. Fish And Chips And Mushy Peas4:42
07. Hats And Cravats6:08
08. When Frankie Shot Lara6:32
09. If You Should Leave Me7:05
10. Shaving Is Boring, Waxing Is Painful
RABIH ABOU-KHALIL oud
MICHEL GODARD tuba, serpent
GAVINO MURGIA soprano saxophone
JARROD CAGWIN drums, frame drum
LUCIANO BIONDINI accordion
Music composed by Rabih About-Khalil
Recorded May 19-26, 2011 at WQ Studios, Berlin
World Village – WVF025 (France)