JAZZ TRACK

ANOUAR BRAHEM

Blue Maqams (ECM 2580)

It’s two decades since the great Tunisian oud player Anouar Brahem last collaborated with jazz musicians. That was with John Surman and Dave Holland on Thimar. Now Holland returns, with drummer Jack DeJohnette and British pianist Django Bates. Although Brahem’s compositions remain rooted in Arabic classical music, the nine pieces ultimately transcend idiom, offering the jazz players harmonic, rhythmic and textural flexibility. Holland and DeJohnette still share an elasticity that’s perfect for the