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Review of Reflections of Palestine

Reflections of Palestine

Ramzi Aburedwan

Riverboat Records

Rating: ★★

One of the good news stories to come out of the despair of the first Intifada was how music guided...

Reviewed in issue October/2012

Review of Nino Biton

Nino Biton

Nino Biton

The Eighth Note

Rating: ★★★★

Nino Biton is not merely a retro student of the past masters of Andalusian music. The 59-year-old Jerusalemite oud (lute)...

Reviewed in issue October/2012

Review of In the Shadow of the Song

In the Shadow of the Song

Vardan Grigoryan

Felmay

Rating: ★★★

The soft, mellow but plangent tone of the duduk is instantly recognisable and tugs at the heart strings. It has...

Reviewed in issue October/2012

Review of So Bouzouk

So Bouzouk

Issa Hassan

Institut de Monde Arabe

Rating: ★★★★

On paper, the diverse musical elements that this album brings together – Kurdish traditional, flamenco and Parisian jazz – could...

Reviewed in issue October/2012

Review of Goblet of Eternal Light

Goblet of Eternal Light

Ali Akbar Moradi & Bahar Movahed

Traditional Crossroads

Rating: ★★★

Ali Akbar Moradi is a master of the Kurdish tanbur (long-necked lute) and one of the great traditional musicians of...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Review of Jewish-Arab Song Treasures

Jewish-Arab Song Treasures

Samy El Maghribi

Buda Musique

Rating: ★★★

Here’s another exemplary piece of music history from Buda Musique, its liner notes adorned with a weighty chunk of scholarship...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Review of Ushba: Georgian Harmonies

Ushba: Georgian Harmonies

Ensemble Mze Shina

Buda Musique

Rating: ★★★

The group Mze Shina (Inner Sun) is actually a French quartet – three men and one woman – specialising in...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Review of Dance to the Sun

Dance to the Sun

Taner Akyol Trio

Enja

Rating: ★★★★

Turkey has no shortage of baglama (lute) masters working on new forms of expression, and Europe has no shortage of...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Review of Radio Beirut: Sounds from the 21st Century

Radio Beirut: Sounds from the 21st Century

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Galileo

Rating: ★★★

There’s an inevitable overlap between Radio Beirut, compiled by the German journalist Dagmar Golle, and last year’s Golden Beirut CD...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

Review of Fasl-i Rembetiko

Fasl-i Rembetiko

Café Aman Istanbul

Kalan

Rating: ★★★★

Deep currents are crossing the blue Aegean – the Greek economic crisis and the Turkish ascent are altering old balances,...

Reviewed in issue Aug/Sep/2012

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