Barzakh

Anouar Brahem

BarzakhBarzakh
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Release date: 13.10.2017 ECM 1432
CD18,90 €add to cartLP24,90 €add to cart
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Recorded in 1990, Barzakh was the ECM debut of Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem, and an album that immediately captured the attention of press and public with its gracefulness and authority. “Phenomenal…this is pure Arab music, without ‘world music’ frippery,” wrote Karl Lippegaus in Stereo. Brahem is joined here by Bechir Selmi, the sensitive violinist from the Musical Ensemble of Tunis, and percussionist Lassad Hosni,  whose earthy frame drum and speeding darbouka would come to be important components of later Brahem recordings including  Conte de l’incroyable amour and Astrakan Café. Beyond the improvisatory brilliance, Barzakh gave notice also of Brahem’s gift for writing arresting themes and luminous melody, as illustrated by “Raf Raf”, “Parfum de Gitane”, “Kerkenah” and other pieces here.
Featured Artists Recorded

September 1990, Rainbow Studio, Oslo

Original Release Date

01.04.1991

  • 1Raf Raf
    (Anouar Brahem)    03:33
  • 2Barzakh
    (Anouar Brahem, Bechir Selmi)    11:02
  • 3Sadir
    (Anouar Brahem)    06:32
  • 4Ronda
    (Anouar Brahem)    03:07
  • 5Hou
    (Anouar Brahem)    01:33
  • 6Sarandib
    (Anouar Brahem)    02:48
  • 7Souga
    (Lassad Hosni)    02:07
  • 8Parfum De Gitane
    (Anouar Brahem)    04:16
  • 9Bou Naouara
    (Lassad Hosni)    02:22
  • 10Kerkenah
    (Anouar Brahem)    07:30
  • 11La Nuit Des Yeux
    (Anouar Brahem)    05:29
  • 12Le Belvédère Assiége
    (Anouar Brahem)    04:14
  • 13Qaf
    (Anouar Brahem)    01:43
Uncompromisingly improvisational, a meeting place for all cultures and times…
Brian Morton, The Wire
 
A CD like “Barzakh” feels like a revelation. Here, an Arab musician takes a step outside his musical world, showing interest in the production aesthetics of a label, in the possibilities that purely instrumental composition offers for improvisation, and in sounds from beyond the Mediterranean—from Spain, from France. “Barzakh” is an open-minded endeavor, a hand extended in friendship.
Karl Bruckmaier, Süddeutsche Zeitung
 
Brahem is a virtuoso of the oud, as sensitive to tonal quality and poetic nuances of space as he is able to speed along the seemingly endless highways and by-ways of North African modality. “Brazakh” stands as an interesting, at times compelling document of a formidable musician, looking towards both deep tradition and the possibilities of cross-cultural transition.
Michael Tucker, Jazz Journal
 
YEAR DATE VENUE LOCATION
2026 September 08 Peristil - Vibrez Festival Split, Croatia
2026 September 11 Festival Arabesques Montpellier, France
2026 October 02 Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Bergamo, Italy
2026 October 07 La Seine Musicale Paris, France
2026 October 08 Flagey Brussels, Belgium
2026 October 10 Opera Dijon, France
2026 November 15 EFG London Jazz Festival London, United Kingdom
2027 January 22 tba Aix en Provence, France
2027 February 05 Philharmonie Luxembourg, Luxembourg
2027 February 13 deSingel Antwerp, Belgium
2027 February 24 Winterjazz Copenhagen, Denmark

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