Sharifi is accompanied on the CD by Paula Cole, famous in her own right, and by Sussan Deyhim and Yungchen Lhamo, along with a multicultural host of others on a broad assortment of Western and Eastern instruments, as well as synthesizer. Lhamo’s voice is particularly well showcased on the first and final cuts, “Requiem,” which was written especially for “An Echoes Requiem for 9-11.” “Echoes” is a weekly syndicated program of ambient and New Age music, and the program was broadcast shortly after the attack.
This CD is a blend of instruments and voice, in a commingling that defies description at times. The instruments are a broad range from all parts of world; the mundane and ordinary such as sax and clarinet, to the exotic, including the oud, talking drum, kora, dumbek, bombo, bougadoubou, and caxixi. The different languages, the instruments, the synthesizer and the voices are all brought together in a texture and feeling as mellifluous and soft as your favorite cuddly blanket on a bitterly cold winter night.
“My Grandfather the Tree” is also particularly memorable, an Irish lament which starts with Seamus Egan on low whistle, so sad and lonesome you can smell the peat and hear the brogue; it also brings Paula Cole’s tremendously under-appreciated voice to the fore.
Production and post-production are impeccable. With 11 tracks topping out at 50 minutes, this CD has something for every listener.
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