
Koum Tara: Chaâbi, Jazz and Strings
BANNING EYRE
Karim Maurice, Sid-Ahmed Belksier, La Camerata.
2018, Odradek Records, 859024006006, $15.59 cd.
This groundbreaking ensemble breathes new life into one of North Africa’s most appealing popular traditions, Algerian chaâbi. Vocalist and mandole player Sid-Ahmed Belksier came of age in the Algerian port city of Oran, steeped in passionate works of chaâbi’s great singers. Here, he collaborates with acclaimed French pianist and composer Karim Maurice, who brings the freedom and openness of jazz improvisation and even the subtle swing of Afro-Cuban music and traces of flamenco to chaâbi classics like “Ya Kalek Lechia” (Creator of all things), with its poetic lyrics of yearning and repentance. And there’s more. A string quartet drawn from Gaël Rassaert’s larger ensemble, La Camerata, adds richness and heft to these exquisite arrangements. Maurice’s piano breaks are consistently crisp and eloquent, and at times heworks in synthesizer elements, as on the earthy chaâbi folk melody “Koum Tara” (Stand and behold beauty), which opens with the lope of mambo, and ends in a dreamy swirl of electronica—cross-cultural fusion at its best.
You may also be interested in...
Ancient Egyptians Still Have Things to Teach Us
Socrates and other Greek thinkers admired Egypt for its philosophical tradition. This new translation of a manuscript as old as the pyramids shows us why.Celebrate Women's History Month With These Reads on Women Throughout History
To help honor Women’s History Month, AramcoWorld brings you a list of 10 female-focused reads that celebrate women throughout history.Novel Reimagines 1001 Nights With a Feminine Take
Jamila Ahmed takes on classic folktales with a newfound feminine perspective in historical fiction novel.