Review

by Chris Nickson

Iraqi oud master Rahim Alhaj has made his home in the US since 2000, but his eye on the big picture, the entire globe - his Little Earth. He certainly has the pulling power to draw in some big names, ranging from Peter Buck to Bill Frisell and avant-gardist Guy Klucevsek. In fact, his collaborators here are from all over the world, responding in their individual ways to his compositions. There's realy beauty here, as with his collaboration with Cape Verdean singer Maria Des Barros on "Missing You," a piece that takes her far from her comfort zone. Klucevsek is masterful, make his accordion sound Middle Eastern, while the kora/oud combination on "The Other Time" is simply a light dance that's delightful. But whether is Alhaj is working with sitar, pipa, or with his own small ensemble, the music is very rich here, and exploration of where people come together. There are far more points of contact than divergence, and the fact that the closing fact has him play with an Iranian ney player shows just how people can ignore borders placed on them by governments.