Lebanese master musician and composer Marcel Khalife is to oud what Argentine nuevo tango pioneer Astor Piazzolla was to bandoneon.  I realize that this is a strange statement, but consider that both musicians are pioneers that turned traditional music of their respective countries onto its head.  Piazzolla causes much controversial ruckus in Argentina and was forced into exile in Paris.  Khalife also relocated to Paris, but for different reasons, mainly a ten year war that plagued his homeland, Lebanon.  Both musicians marry a traditional music genre to jazz and avant garde music.  And for those individuals who enjoy the rich nuances of Astor Piazzolla's nuevo tango, will also enjoy Khalife's, well I guess you can call it, "nuevo Arabic" repertoire.

Khalife and the Al Mayadine Quartet, originally formed in 1976 under a different lineup of musicians has ventured into uncharted musical territory by marrying Arabic, jazz, avant garde with a dash of Andalusian music.  The quartet's latest CD, Caress in which Khalife composed the nine tracks features all those musical styles, sometimes appearing on separate tracks and sometimes those diverse genres appear along side each other on a single track.  Joining, Marcel are pianist Rami Khalife, percussionist, Bachar Khalife and jazz bassist Peter Herbert.  Violinist Omar Guey performs a solo composition, Chaza that recalls the work of 18th Century Italian violist/composer Niccolo Paganini and John Corigliano's score for the Canadian film, The Red Violin.  Chaza is extremely passionate and lyrical.  It is the kind of performance that literally takes one's breath away.

Other compositions on the album are equally inspired.  The titular track, portrays melodic jazz and Arabic music.  The song's structure alternates between an intricate instrumental weave and spaciousness with plenty of room for soloing.  Check out the vibraphone solo.  Al Hambra falls into that avant garde dissonant territory and is extremely moody, reminding me of a forest after an electrical storm.  Granada is my favorite track on the CD with its marriage of gypsy and Arabic genres.  Marcel plays his oud as if it were a flamenco guitar.  Tents features solo oud and again, this is very stunning work.  With All the Love performed by Rami Khalife on solo piano sounds like an improvisation of the famous Birthday Song meets Maurice Ravel.  Popular Cafe and Samai Bayati feature the gypsy-Arabic sound again.  And the closing track, Passport allows each of the musicians to show off their versatility and mastership of their various instruments.  The track lends itself to a playful interaction between the musicians as well as, plenty room for gorgeous solos.

The music on this CD begs your undivided attention and one needs to sit still and listen to the subtle nuances and intricate musical textures.  This disc offers extraordinary performances.  Marcel Khalife and Al Mayadine Quartet along with two vocalists, Oumaima Khalil who has been performing with Khalife since she was 12-years old and Yolla Keryakos will be touring North American this fall.  Although the CD features instrumentals, the concert will feature poetry by prominent contemporary Arab Poet Mahmoud Darwish.  Oddly enough, Marcel who currently resides in France was raised a Christian, but studied Arabic music at Lebanese conservatories.  But he is not a man of compromises, meaning he partakes in his own interpretation of traditional Arabic music and politically speaking, has acted as a bridge between Christians and the Arab world.

According to Marcel, "More than ever, we all have to work much harder for peace.  Peace cannot be imposed upon a people by a certain political agenda.  Peace is achieved through respect, understanding of others and their culture; it is achieved by giving up fear of others; it is achieved through dialogue."  Marcel Khalife's musical repertoire opens us up for such a dialogue and in its own way is a musical dialogue that allows avant garde, jazz, Arabic and other musical genres to speak up and be heard. 

-- Patty-Lynne Herlevi