For a real freaky evening, pack a freshy-fresh, pop this CD into the player, pull out a bottle of red (and not that Charles Shaw shit, either) and prepare for a different kind of East meets West. Lebanese-born oud master Rabih Abou-Khalil lays down some of the most interesting tracks you'll ever hear. Not being one to be pigeonholed to a certain genre of sound, Abou-Khalil explores waves not yet ridden. Journey to the Centre of an Egg has nothing to do with omelets but everything to do with breaking the shells and pushing boundaries.
At first, I thought these guys were just tuning up when I started playing the disc. Once I turned it up, I started to catch on. Now, I think I know what an oud is, but I'm not too sure. I do know to become a master at anything, you have to be practicing for a long frackin' time. For 25 years, Abou-Khalil has been charming the world with his oud and the way he plays it.
In Journey he blends jazz, the sweet-controlled sound of chaos, with his Middle Eastern sound. Subscribing to the Miles Davis theory that "what you don't play is just as important as what you do play", Rabih takes his oud to a new realm along with long-time percussionist and collaborator Jarrod Cagwin, whose artistry is subtle, yet dynamic. He seems to be at home on this disc as he sometimes slips in and out of the chaos until Rabih takes control.
Joachim Kuhn, one of Germany’s greatest pianist/composers, adds in with his renowned skills. He is one of Europe's most accomplished and respected jazz musicians. Like Felix the Cat's magic bag of tricks, Kuhn's experience brings a cornucopia of ideas that lend themselves to Rabih's adventures. This is the first time Rabih has ever added a piano. Drummer Wolfgang Reisinger joins in on two tracks.
The Journey... starts out with the oud and piano in a comparable rhythm with the drums softly beating in the back on "Shrewd Woman", sounding like you are about to set out down the old Silk Road. Somewhere down that road some unstructured jazz breaks in as the piano and oud now offset each other with different little riffs and chords that bounce around. Cagwin is lured into the chaotic form, but then his beats seem to charge off into the distance. He is the first to come back, bringing in Jochim and Rabih, as the first track settles down. That is followed by "Little Camels". The oud and drum start this out with a traditional Arabic sound, but then Rabih stretches the oud deeper as Kuhn brings in the keys of the piano.
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