The Astounding Eyes of Rita

The shadowy timbres of Anouar Brahem's last CD, Le Pas de Chat Noir, made it one of the most striking oud (lute) recordings of recent years. Brahem has an established pedigree for innovative collaborations with a broad variety of European musicians – including jazz saxophonist John Surman – and here he brings together the unusual ensemble of bass clarinet, bass guitar and Middle Eastern hand percussion to complement his oud playing. Their sparse, low registers leave space for his understated melodies to shine through and, whilst an air of melancholy hangs over much of the music, the mood would be better described as introspective rather than sombre. The minimalist elegance of the title-track has an open, cinematic quality, so it's bound to appear on at least one ravishingly shot Gallic film in the next 12 months. Other pieces, such as ‘Dance with Waves’, are more playful and sensuous, with the flirty interplay between the instruments offering an object lesson to anyone who might dare describe their music as ‘Oriental jazz’.

As we have come to expect of ECM, the recorded sound is both perfectly transparent and gloriously lush. The Astounding Eyes of Rita shows a confidence and clarity of purpose that sets Anouar Brahem apart from all others. It is dedicated to the memory of the Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish: if only we could be all assured of such a beautiful epitaph.