Amateurs simple and stripped compositions, this album is yours. I'm still not recovered from the meditative journey accomplished during listening to this record (I have the last 2 years) .Oriental, melodic air: open a parenthesis in time by this CD, much less austere and "intelo "that the revered" Thimar "which becomes flat and boring after dozens of plays ... so that it stays fresh and clear despite the passage of time. The sound is a little brighter than many ECM discs and this light is very nice, although it may seem a little less "slick" for listeners over "Hi-Fistes" qu'audiophiles. Easternmost Jazz, the tone in the title of the album, inspired by a poem of the Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish. Another clue: the photo of the cover which points to a minaret and a sign written in Arabic. Finally the title "The Lovers of Beirut" which opens the album.
No offense to some: it's not because the names Dave Holland, Ian John Surman Garbarek or not on an ECM disc, or the mythical studios of Cologne, it's worth nothing (go down see the criticism unfounded ...)!
It is undeniable, clarinet and bass play second fiddle here, but it sounds good and right; percussion are beautiful, inventive and subtle, and the oud is expressed with greatness that we know in the hands of Anouar Brahem. Essential disc.
