1. Sahara
2. Tsarka
3. Ziriab
4. Blue Camel
5. On Time
6. A Night In The Mountains
7. Rabou-Abou-Kabou
8. Beirut

Musicians:
Rabih Abou-Khalil - oud
Charlie Mariano - alto saxophone
Kenny Wheeler - flugelhorn, trumpet
Steve Swallow - bass
Nabil Khaiat - frame drums
Milton Cardona - congas
Ramesh Shotham - South Indian drums, percussion

Blue Camel is the pinnacle to date of Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou-Khalil's achievement as a jazzman. In both mood and scope, it can almost be characterized as a new Kind of Blue. Both tense and reflective, it is perfect for listening after midnight. Abou-Khalil brings back Charlie Mariano on alto sax and Kenny Wheeler on flügelhorn and trumpet, and they generally alternate solos with Abou-Khalil himself. Rounding out the roster is Steve Swallow on bass, Milton Cardona on congos, Nabil Khaiat on frame drums, and Ramesh Shotham on South Indian drums and percussion. They form a tight ensemble and play comfortably with each other. The album opens with "Sahara," which contains both one of Abou-Khalil's tunes, a mesmerizing melody that could be either Arabic or jazz, and one of Abou-Khalil's best solos, a well-defined interlude that delightfully features the unique timbre of the oud. "Tsarka" begins with a fast break on the oud that turns out to be one of the two motifs on which everything is built. After it is elaborated for a few bars, the oud comes back with another building block. Then we get some stunning improvisations, especially from Abou-Khalil. "Ziriab" opens with a trumpet solo in which Kenny Wheeler tests the compass of his instrument, backed up with some atmospheric sounds from the udu drum; then Abou-Khalil enters with another great tune for everyone to build on. The title track is nothing but fun. Seductive percussion ushers in Wheeler and Mariano playing in unison for a tune that is somewhere between Duke Ellington and the court of Baghdad. As the percussion bubbles along, Milton Cardona's congos adding a Latin flavor to the proceedings, Abou-Khalil steps up with a very fast and rhythmic, if not very tuneful, solo. Midway through the track, Mariano blisters the paint with a screeching sax workout that bridges the Arabic and the Latin, while remaining all the while pure jazz. Even Steve Swallow gets a chance to feature his bass after which the ensemble brings it together and takes it home. Some of the other tracks are not as good as the ones mentioned above, but they are all listenable and very atmospheric. The aptly named "A Night in the Mountains" is a slow, thoughtful walk, perfect for silent contemplation. The album ends with "Beirut," named for the Lebanese city torn by civil war from which Abou-Khalil had to flee many years ago. The track begins with a quiet oud solo and then builds to something more chaotic and striving. Blue Camel may not be a perfect album, but it demonstrates better than any other that a fusion between jazz and a musical form from another culture is possible and can work to the advantage of both. Plus, it's just great listening. ---Kurt Keefner, Rovi

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1. Shrilling Chicken
2. When The Dog Bites
3. A Better Tomorrow
4. Banker's Banquet
5. Dreams Of A Dying City
6. Fish And Chips And Mushy Peas
7. Hats And Cravats
8. When Frankie Shot Lara
9. If You Should Leave Me
10. Shaving Is Boring, Waxing Is Painful
11. L'Heure Du Croissant (Bonus Track)

Musicians:
Rabih Abou-Khalil - oud
Gavino Murgia - soprano saxophone
Michel Godard - tuba, serpent
Luciano Biondini - accordion
Jarrod Cagwin - drums, frame drums

The oud virtuoso Rabih Abou Khalil was born in Beirut Lebanon in 1957 and grew up during the two decades when Beirut was on of the most cosmopolitan of all cities. He studied traditional Arabic music on the oud, western classical music on the flute and was exposed at home to both rock and jazz. In 1978 he moved to Munich Germany due to the Lebanese civil war and continued his study of classical flute. In fact he played flute on his first albumcalled Compositions & Improvisations recorded in 1981 but shortly afterwards he switched to the oud which he plays on all his subsequent recordings. The oud is a traditional Arab musical instrument and is the predecessor to both the lute and the guitar. It looks like a lute with 5-6 double strings of either nylon or gut. It is the quintessential compositional instrument in Arabic musical heritage.

Rabih Abou-Khalil not only integrated classical Arabic musical ideas into western improvisational music and jazz but also started experimenting with traditional musical genres from other parts of the world. In his first seven recordings for Enja, MMP and ECM he experimented with fusing traditional Arabic musical ideas and scales with jazz. With Al-Jadida and Blue Camel both recorded in the early 90s he started introducing Turkish musical elements into jazz. He continued to experiment with Arabic, Turkish and Western musical forms fused with jazz until 2004 when another career defining CD Morton’s Foot was released. On this record he adds the accordion of Luciano Biondini and the vocals of Sardinian singer Gavino Murgia whose style is reminiscent of Tibetan throat singing.

In the late 90s he hosted Visions of Music a 13-part documentary series that explored through musician interviews and film footage the blending of jazz with different world traditional music including Caribbean salsa, Brazilian samba, Argentine tango, French musette, Spanish flamenco, Jewish klezmer, African, Indian and Arabic music, and New Orleans R&B.

He has performed in over 100 music festivals worldwide and has worked with an international cast of musicians including Sonny Fortune, Kenny Wheeler, Glenn Velez and Steve Swallow. In addition to composing, performing and recording music he designs his own CD covers in the traditional style of Arabic calligraphy and non-figurative art. --- musicians.allaboutjazz.com

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