ROOTS & SPROUTS

Although he most likely conjured up a completely different concept in his mind at the time of recording his fifth album, oud virtuoso Rabih Abou-Khalil manages to beautifully evoke the colours, smells and sounds of the oriental market, taking listeners on a promenade that will surely galvanise all their sensations..

Throughout his career, Rabih, with an innate sense of assembly, has surrounded himself with excellent instrumentalists who could embody his complex musical vision, and Roots and Sprouts was not going to be an exception. Fact of the matter is, Rabih's oud is not the driving force behind this record, as one might expect. There are very few instances where it actually takes the lead displayed with delightful craftsmanship, like in the solo from Remembering Machgara. Instead, it works as an auxiliary instrument for the two main noticeable gears of the album: nay and Arabic violin, stunningly played by Selim Kusur and Yassin El-Achek, respectively. The background rhythm section, which serves as sort of a vertebral column for the album, sees Glen Moore on bass, Glen Velez - frame drums and Mohammad Al-Sous on darabukka. Thus, with a solid foundation ? the ever so lively and alert oriental rhythm from start to finish, Roots and Sprouts' structure is built of soundscapes alternating from catchy dynamic tracks (or passages within the tracks) to mellow and sometimes wailful tunes, but uncharacteristic to Rabih Abou-Khalil, with insignificant jazz bits. An exception in this case is constituted by Duke Ellington's Caravan, beautifully covered with the now familiar alert percussion, along with the nay and lamenting violin painting the caravan's weary trail. At the other end of the spectrum, there are tracks with extremely catchy main themes suitable for raqs sharqi, like Remembering Machgara or Outlook; their only drawback, which is actually present throughout the album, is the middle section which leans more on musicianship than on music and composition, thus conveying that exotic walk quite a few lengthy moments of bluntness. However, this does not take away from the record's green and fresh vibe, as its title seems to suggest as well, which appears very different form other Rabih works, like Blue Camel or Yara that are more oriented towards pure Arabic jazz.

All in all, while not being the best embodiment of progressive folk, Roots and Sprouts is no stranger to the progressive sphere; therefore, with its construction revolving around Arabic folklore and the overall experience it provides the listeners with, it makes it worthy of 3.5 stars. (really? yup!)

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