Anouar Brahem – Khomsa (1995)

Brahem on oud, Richard Galliano on accordion, FranЌois Couturier on piano, Jean Marc Larche on soprano sax, Bechir Selmi on violin, Palle Danielsson on double-bass, and Jon Christensen on drums. Brahem is from Tunisia, where he is considered a master of his country's classical music. His own music however borrows freely and naturally from other cultures. He plays the oud with an unusually delicate touch, and there is an incantatory lyricism about his compositions that gives his music great finesse. The music is performed in a highly improvisational framework, usually with a core trio, and sometimes in collaboration with other highly regarded musicians.