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CD Review
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LA Times, CD Review >>
"Taqasim" (Connecting Cultures Records)
Lebanese oud virtuoso Khalifé has been a pioneer in blending Arabic music with Western elements in works performed by large orchestras as well as his Al Mayadeen ensemble.Like Alhaj, who was imprisoned twice by Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime before he left Iraq, Khalifé has had his skirmishes with various authorities, for pro-Arab political statements as well as alleged "insults of religious values." (It's obviously difficult simply to be a musician in the Middle East, which may explain why Khalifé now lives in Paris and Alhaj lives in New Mexico.)Ultimately, all musicians regardless of origin will offer their music as the ultimate statement of their values, creatively, culturally and politically. And Khalifé is best experienced in his stirring improvisations.
Deeply inspired by the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish (and accompanied by the double bass of Peter Herbert and the percussion of Bachar Khalifé), he performs a large, extended work in three parts. Each of the stop and start sections of the taqasim (the foundation of the improvising), reveals different emotional content, sometimes intimate and inward reaching, sometimes high spirited and celebratory.
Khalifé generates his lines from the rich-toned middle and lower areas of his instrument, employing vocal-like melismatic phrases, constantly reminding the listener of the complex, lyrical rhythms of Darwish's poetry. Different styles drift, dreamlike at times, through the music: a whisper of flamenco, a sudden rhythmic recollection of jazz, a sliding phrase recalling an Indian raga. It's an impressive outing, stimulating new responses with each hearing. 01/07/07 >> go there
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