I don't know what to say about this fantastic album. Instead, let me emphasize my dissatisfaction with the 1 through 5 star rating method. The music is spare and emotionally powerful. Five stars, all I have here, is poignantly inadequate.

This album is what music is all about. If I'm guessing right, the reviewer from Italy below compares this to the impressionistic music of Debussy et al. That's an apt comparison. It's not as 'free form' as Keith Jarrett (one of Brahem's major influences); it's structured music, but certainly doesn't let its meter weigh it down. Rarely do all three instruments combine. Instead, one instrumentalist will muse and the others will fill in or respond.

The first three tracks are moody and exquisite. The fourth, "Pique-Nique a Nagpur", is a playful delight but it's not shallow. "C'est Ailleurs" is gorgeous.

Perfect for a rainy day.

Dopo avere acquistato "Thimar", ed esserne stato folgorato, ho pensato di ridare fiducia a Mr. Brahem...
Anche questo cd non ha bisogno di grandi commenti, ha semplicemente bisogno di essere ascoltato per rilasciare tutta la sua dolcezza poetica attraverso ambientazioni che rammentano, a tratti, l'impressionismo Debussiano.
Consigliato l'ascolto ad occhi chiusi.

Se fusiona la música de aquí y de allá, la de ahora y la de siempre. ECM edita un disco soberbio, en el que el tunecino Brahem, desliza con elegancia y modernidad el sonido de sus cuerdas sobre una elegante y sobria textura pianística romántica salpicada de la fuerza de un acordeón que nos explica la importancia de Piazolla en la música moderna. Una amalgama mediterranea de música ECM con tintes étnicos y clacisismo europeo diferente a lo escuchado hasta ahora. Bravo Manfred Eicher!!!

Anouar Brahem is an artist of incredible vision and talent - each one of his releases is a sonic and cultural delight, taking the listener on a journey filled with wonder and beauty. This, his latest recording, is one of his best. In the notes to the CD, Brahem is quotes as saying that after recording his THIMAR album, the resulting physical and artistic exhaustion caused him to set aside his oud for a while - something he said he had never before done. Turning his musical ideas and expression to his piano, Brahem created the pieces recorded here. When he took these ideas into the studio (and taking his oud along with him), along with colleagues François Coutourier (piano) and Jean-Louis Matinier (accordion), his ideas were brought beautifully to fruition. The result is one of the most beautiful recordings I have ever heard.

The pieces having been written on the piano, that instrument takes the lead - but the oud and the accordion have a lot to say as well, and their voices blend effortlessly with that of the keyboard. Brahem is a master not only at composition and performing, but, in his arrangements, and in the very choosing of his accompanying musicians, shows a brilliance that is breathtaking. Through the various groupings that he has assembled on his recordings, he endows his music with a strength and scope that is stunning - it takes on a life of its own, and grows far beyond whatever boundaries smaller minds might employ to contain it by definition.

This is `world music' in the deepest, spiritual sense of the phrase - political frontiers are vanquished and erased, while cultures are honored, respected and mingled. Few other contemporary artists come to mind who continually create on this level - Stephan Micus is one. Brahem's last album, ASTRAKAN CAFÉ, alluded to this meeting and convergence of styles - with each successive release, Brahem furthers his cause (and that of the open-minded, eager-to-explore listener). Each and every track included here is an absolute gem. Don't approach this album with the expectations of hearing another outing in which Brahem `simply' dazzles the listener with the beauty and technique of his oud playing (and he is a master of that instrument, let there be no doubt of that...) - approach it instead with an open mind and ear, and marvel at the journey on which you are to be led.

This is an absolutely essential recording.