|
|
|
|
|||
What tends to be forgotten in the plethora of functional recordings he has put out over the years is his rootsward focus and the consummate mastery that this musician has over a vast array of western as well as oriental rhythms. The guy's the real deal, something that is made patently obvious by this collaboration with acoustic guitarist Rafa El Tachuela, a master flamenco composer who has had 48 of his own compositions recorded by groups in Barcelona, London and Berlin. In conjunction with Said Kamal on violin and Mohamed Naiem on ney and kawala (Arabic flutes) they explore on Flamenco Arabe the binding conjunctions between Spanish, North African and Indian musics. It might sound a bit dry until you hear the pulsing melodic and rhythmic beauty of these pieces. From the haunting spiritual soulfulness of the flute intro to Al Quantara a gipsy cante festero that unfurls into a lush yet driving orchestration you get the palpable sense that the ride is not over until Hossam and Rafa say that it's over. Running through Andalucian vineyards that take bloom in the sands of the African desert, the forthright beats and Arabic harmonic focus make all the music here not only extremely accessible but emotionally fecund, a very rare combination indeed. This is not for commerce's sake, but for beauty's. Flamenco Arabe closes with a stimulating suite of Indian, Arabic and flamenco colours that superbly reflects Rafa's obsession with the fruits of millennia-long peregrinations that straddle three continents. File under indispensable.
|
|
|
