From 1975, two takes on Joao Donato which ‘strip away the originals’ sophisticated arrangements in favour of a more driving groove and a raw, funky edge that makes them absolute dancefloor weapons.’
A groundbreaking, 1978 blend of Arab, jazz, Baroque pop, folk, and Brazilian styles like Bossa Nova, Tropicalia and MPB, with Fairouz’ son Ziad Rahbani as musical arranger, setting Palestinian poetry by Samih Al Qasem, Tawfiq Ziad, and the great Mahmoud Darwish.
Beautiful, small-group boleros. Ibrahim’s last, attenuated sessions before his passing in 2005.
Boogie-down cosmic funk — like full-throttle Roy Ayers. Jimi Adams packs his inner Hendrix off to Funky Town; the horns are the horniest; Mona runs it all down with an irresistible West African tilt.
Originally released by the Folkstudio label in 1976, this is infectiously exuberant, eighteen-piece spiritual jazz in the tradition of the Arkestra, the Organic Music Society, and Mingus; strung between the post-war big bands and the Italian outernationalism of projects like Aktuala and Futuro Antico, drawing in music from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Her debut album, thirteen ‘chansons décadentes et fantasmagoriques’, originally released in 1966.