Le Trio Joubran & Dhafer Youssef - Zawaj El Yamam
This is the first international release that does full justice to three of the most original musicians in the Arab world:
Samir, Wissam and Adnan Joubran are brothers and oud players from Palestine who have developed a compelling, intuitive style that allows the Arabic lute to be heard in a new way, not just in backing work or solos but as a trio instrument in complex, emotional and remarkably varied compositions.
Their last album was a poetry-and-music set, dominated by the writing of the late Mahmoud Darwish and aimed largely at the Arab world, but this recording displays their instrumental work at its best.
Their playing is backed by percussion and the occasional drifting scat vocal from the Tunisian musician Dhafer Youssef, and their oud work changes within every track: sturdy, stately passages develop into improvisations that echo jazz or blues; brooding, atmospheric pieces like Dawwâr El Shames could easily be used as classy film music; quietly epic tracks like Sama Cordoba build up into rapid-fire complex arrangements.
In order to sound spontaneous, they chose not to rehearse before going into the studio.
source : www.theguardian.com/music/2011/mar/24/le-trio-joubran-asfar-review
