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And why am I uploading a seven year old album? You may well ask, simple answer is I've just "found" it. Once you've heard this guy you'll understand why, for the superlative "awesome" is apt. Not only does he play the oud like a corporeal angel he sings like a Devine One; imagine Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan(rip)and then some, you think Dame Janet baker shows range Dhafer'll show you a whole prairie. From screaming Millenium Falcon to ruptured yak at warp speed.I did manage to eBay a more recent album "Prophecy" on the Swedish Enja lable and it sounds like some bjorn bjerks have done an Enya on him; strange as the Swedes are usually as fastidious about their jazz as they are their furniture and fighter-plane design - hence EST below.If this isn't your usual cup of tea it is worth staying with at least till tracks three and four. Or maybe break yourself in with Avishai Cohen and his jazz oudist first off, to get your ear in, and then prepare yourself for the added vocal onslaught of Dhafer Youssef.buy
I'm getting a bit of a thing for threesomes."Ooo err"No! trios of the Jazz kind.First Medeski Martin & Wood, then The Bad Plus and now Esbjorn and his bjoys. Quite similar to TBP but more trad. Very good stuff and if you google about you'll find a torrent for a whole discography.Not that I'd suggest you indulge in any illicit p2p file swapping. Wife swapping, now that's a different thing altogether.
It's several years on now and I'm still reeling from seeing Avishai Cohen live, not just because he was playing Bridport("where?") but because he was so amazingly good and how could I not have known about him. Matt Hayden [matt@club-underground.com] is to thank for putting such a good show and for continuing to do so at The Beach and Barneycoot, Bridport. If you fancy being squashed amongst a chattering crowd of chain-smoking mingers there can be no better place to watch musicians of world class practice their art - to pure indifference. Please Matt sort out a decent venue, the musicians and we who travel to see them deserve a little respect."Whoa bit of a rant there j, we want no more of that or we'll be off to some other blog. Erm! tell us about the album then?"Well I've only just dld it and I'm listening as I write. 1st track features the Oud ooH! and so does track 2. Now I, and quite a few others, have a bit of a thing for ouds especially when played innaJazzstyle[tm] my favourite (alright he's the only one I know) Oudist is Dhafer Youssef who is also blessed with the most preturnatural voice - more of him (ie upped) later if I get time.AMG tells us the oud player's Amos Hoffman.So pls dld for yourself (hint-post a comment) and don't forget Ken Wood's password.This really is a good rip, it's obviously a good recording, so good in fact that tere's almost no point in buying an original - but you wouldn't do that would you. And it sounds like the same band most noticably fightningly fleet and frighteningly young Mark Guiliana on drums.
Redux - I've played this a couple of times and at full whack it sounds extremely good for a knock off mp3 ie it's a good recording and "should" sound even better via cd. Amos Hoffman's oud features predominantly and makes a piquant foil to Avishai's bass. With a decent sub you really get the impression he's in the room playing bass just for you. His style is very much his own and he varies from hand plucked and bowed stand up, a la Mingus, to fretted and I guess fretless electrics, echos less of his examplar Pastorious and more Clarke especially the way he pops those harmonics.
buy Avishai
Coming soon to a metrosexual dinner party near you! Released on Monday?"So what do you think of it j?"err well.....jury's still out I'm afraid. Need to hear it behind a few ads and soundtracking the next romCom first. But it is as you'd expect business as usual and why not? I do take umbrage though as, as with his first, the album should be billed as Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan "9"
as she duets on virtually every song. Available at every good Asda.Damien Rice Buy me - I'd buy from them in preference to all else.
