About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

Being one of the world's foremost oud players has its drawbacks. Anouar Brahem, the Tunisian virtuoso who has extended the Arabic lute's repertoire into the realms of jazz, experimental, and (Western) classical music, found himself so taxed after his recording Thimar that he set his instrument aside. The pressure was understandable, as that critically acclaimed set joined his oud with heavy hitters Dave Holland on bass and saxophonist John Surman. The exhausted Brahem began composing for -- and on -- piano, and from that break comes Le Pas du Chat Noir. Once again with a trio -- pianist François Couturier and accordionist Jean-Louis Matineir -- Brahem takes his oud into new territory, as different from Thimar as that record was from his other recordings. Tonally, the combination of dry lute with percussive piano and breathy accordion conjures images of Parisian byways and Buenos Aires alleys. As befits the project's genesis, it's the piano that seems to have pride of place on this recording. The oud, doubling and wrapping around the piano's melodies, lends a North African burr to the music, until the keys dip into the modal scales that are its home territory, and the roles are reversed, the piano taking its supporting place as it does in Mahgreb café music. But this isn't café music: With deliberate tempos and dreamy commentaries, the songs on Le Pas du Chat Noir seem to freeze time and open up the mind to contemplation and association. It's the type of profound connection that's prized in Arabic classical music, and it's proof once more of the deep roots that this astonishing player brings to the contemporary music he creates. Mark Schwartz, Barnes & Noble

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