Fusions of musical traditions are nothing new, but it is rare to discover a successful synthesis such as this working project between French guitarist Titi Robin and Pakistani singer Faiz Ali Faiz. For more than 30 years Robin has followed the adventure of his passion for flamenco, Indian and Arabic music with more than a dozen recordings. Faiz Ali Faiz is a qawwali singer, one of the best to emerge since the death of the acknowledged master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan in 1997. He had also previously worked with Spanish musicians Miguel Poveda and Chicuela fusing their raw flamenco voices and guitars with his group.

Qawwali is the Sufi devotional singing of praise songs and ghazals (love songs), generally sung over a background of harmonium and tabla by a lead singer with backing vocalists and percussion. Rather than adding beats or studio treatments to pre-recorded tracks as some have done with qawwali fusions, Robin’s usual group of guitars, accordion, reeds and percussion is integrated into Faiz’s traditional ensemble. Robin has composed melodies that he combined with texts and poems found by Faiz, written in a handful of languages including Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. From the pounding Ya Ali, with its accordion leading the full company, to the tender guitar and vocal duet of Chambe de Booti, where Faiz sings of the jasmine flower, this is a perfect collaboration.


December 2009 – January 2010, MAG
5 stars

French gypsy, bouzouki virtuoso, composer and musicologist Thierry ‘Titi’ Robin is a tireless explorer of musical worlds, and his ability to assimilate musical styles is second to none. This recording finds him in Pakistan where he (and his remarkable band) join forces with the great Sufi singer Faiz Ali Faiz (and his remarkable band) in a performance that is simply outstanding. Rarely have two musical styles melded so perfectly; bouzouki, gumbass, Pakistani harmoniums, clarinets, cor anglais, accordion and tabla mix seamlessly. This is one of the best recordings of this, or for that matter any other year.

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Although this is Joana Amendoeira's fifth recording, A Flor da Pele (Skin Deep) is the first available internationally. The young Portuguese singer has recorded a sublime feast of contemporary fado music. Meaning "fate" or "destiny" in Portuguese, fado dates from the early 1800s, and its origins are said to lie in old sea songs with African and Arabic influences. It is usually performed with a backing of double bass, acoustic guitar and the Portuguese 12-string guitar. Made popular worldwide in the 1950s and 60s by Amalia Rodrigues, fado lost favour in Portugal due to its association with the Salazar regime. The success of a new generation of fado singers, including Mariza, Madredeus, Misia and others, has generated considerable interest again in fado, both in Portugal and internationally. With Mariza now exploring a contemporary fusion sound, as evidenced by her tour here last year, the traditional acoustic format remains a vital element in the songs of younger singers, including Joana Amendoeira. The essential element of fado is saudade, the almost intangible sense of regret and loss, of a love affair, a country or a friend. In these 15 short songs, Amendoeira sings of the sea, love and hope, betrayal and regret. In Barco De Sonhos (Ship of Dreams) she sings of sending her love away. An outstanding recording.

Hungarian folk singer Marta Sebestyen came to international prominence when she contributed to The English Patient soundtrack. This new album finds her exploring traditional Hungarian song, seven of its eight tracks taking the form of medleys. On ‘Flowers Gatherer’s lyrical flute lines brings reminders of Irish traditional music, a perception strengthened at the six minute mark when uillean-sounding bagpipes join in to almost orgasmic effect. Having Central Asian throat singing on your album is getting close to being a world music cliché but its restrained use on one track works a treat. A beautifully sung, played and produced recording.

Another life-changing event came when the French painter Emile Savitry introduced him to jazz. Reinhardt was an instant convert. Rather than duplicate what he heard, however, he combined his native music – gypsy music – with jazz. While players from countries as diverse as Brazil, South Africa, Turkey and Norway would do this subsequently, it was unheard of in 1930.

Reinhardt was also a notable composer, with Nuages  one of the glories of the era. The first disc of this two-CD set is dedicated to his compositions, mainly performed with the Hot Club, plus two dazzling pieces from the final years – he died in 1953 -  on electric guitar and showing how open he was  to new musical vocabulary. The second covers assorted sessions from 1933-46 with such major American players as Coleman Hawkins, Benny Carter and Ellington.

This set is part of an imaginative 20-artist series (including Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Art Tatum), each containing a booklet with an adult comic strip about the artist. The 15 page Reinhardt example deftly recounts an episode in which the notoriously unreliable guitarist stop up Ellington at Carnegie Hall in 1946. It was just the ammunition the American critics needed.