This is my new go-to disc when I want an hour of mellow instrumental music -- which is quite often. From the cover you'd think "Arabic," and it does have the Arabo-Andalusian sound, with lute and the little ceramic hand drums, even some Arabic-sounding flutes, but there are also what I would classify as jazz musicians on here playing sax and trumpet. And Arabic modes (the maqam) lend themselves well to freeform improvisation on brass. Nashaz is the brainchild of Brian Prunka, a guitarist who heard the oud and was hooked. (The story is an Egyptian taxi driver in New Orleans told him he ought to check it out!) I have to confess I really don't like jazz guitar. I don't mean Django or the early guys, but post-Charlie Christian jazz guitar turns me off. The oud on the other hand I can take in any quantity. Early on (before we even knew we were listening to "world music") I got Hamza El Din's brilliant album, Escalay: the Water Wheel (Nonesuch, 1971), and later on I discovered he lived in Berkeley (a lot easier on the constitution than Sudan) so I got to hear him perform in intimate small settings. Prunka studied with Simon Shaheen and moved to Brooklyn (from New Orleans) to pursue his music. The name of the group is an in-joke as "Nashaz" is Arabic for discordant or out-of-tune. Kenny Warren on trumpet has played with Slavic Soul Party and has studied Balkan and Turkish music before getting into the maqam mode. He does those little Milesian squeaks, then pops in the mute for a sustained out-breath. Nathan Herrera on alto sax, flute and bass clarinet has studied Indian as well as Macedonian music, he brings a great ear to the session -- I dig his warm bass clarinet sound a lot. Apostolis Sideris on the bass is the Greek contingent (No, it's not the Mothers of Invention: no Jimmy Carl Black!). George Mel on percussion is a jazz drummer from Tbilsi, and Vin Scialla, who is also listed as percussionist, is another jazz and world music guy with a track record. So they have a wide range of backgrounds and a focus on this mode that is exciting and really works as jazz or Arabic music, wherever you fancy filing it. It's got under my skin: I am eating cucumber salad and drinking mint tea!