Our track of the year is by another remarkable oud player, Anouar Brahem. The sound of the oud is potent in another vital context, this new release: where the theme is instead of broadly political, intensely more specifically personal instead. It is about Tunisia born icon Dhafer Youssef meeting his wife, the Shiraz of the title – Shiraz Fradi. The setting wrapping the spiritually solo oud and voice lines is piano, trumpet, bass guitar and drums + additional guitar and “sound design” on some tracks.
The extraordinary French Vietnamese guitarist Nguyên Lê pops up on a few tracks and contributes a lot to key moments including the best track ‘Generalife Gardens’.
Overall while eminently listenable It’s not as strong as Street of Minarets [click for a review] where the outcome is more than even the sum of the parts. But this latest is far more romance laden and balladic.
The bar is set high when you come to a Youssef album. However, the aforementioned ‘Generalife Gardens’ is pretty extraordinary. If you listen to only one track, make it this.
That sufi soaked voice of the leader’s stops you in your tracks regularly throughout the album. Surprises include the Americana hinting ‘Terpsichorean’ which doesn’t quite come off although it starts engagingly.
But if you come to Youssef for a sense of the mystic – and many do – then the ‘Zakir Bhai Eternal Longing’ tracks won’t leave you disappointed where the Austrian Mario Rom’s trumpet contributions add a gritty metallic atmosphere that is a contrastive element. Salamanca born pianist Daniel Garcia’s soloing on ’41 Milestones’ is another part of the album that appeals.
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