Rabih Abou-Khalil - Roots & Sprouts (1990)

Country: Lebanon
Genre: Jazz / World Music

Rabih Abou-Khalil is a Lebanese oud player and composer, and "Roots & Sprouts" is one of the most interesting fusions of western jazz and middle eastern music I've ever came across. The album essentially consists of jazz numbers played without traditional western jazz instruments apart from a double bass. The result is impressive, since all the musicians are tight as fuck and pretty versatile, so you can bet that everything is very well composed and improvised. The songs can range from really fun jams (like the excellent opener "Remembering Machghara" and the cover of Duke Ellington's "Caravan") to sparse and hypnotically atmospheric tunes. (like "Walking on Air" and the awe-inspiring closer "Dreams of a Dying City") I also reckon this is really accessible stuff as well, so it should also be suitable for the non-jazz types as well.

Rabih Abou-Khalil - oud
Selim Kasur - nay
Yassin El-Achek - violin
Glen Moore - bass
Glen Velez - frame drums
Mohammad Al-Sous - darabukka

DL LINK

Recommended further listening: Shakti - s/t; Yusef Lateef- Eastern Sounds; John Handy & Ali Akbar Khan - Karuna Surprise; Jonas Hellborg & Shawn Lane - Good People in Times of Evil; Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda

A large classical dump from the necro coming soon.

Akphaezya - Anthology II: Links from the Dead Trinity

Genre : Avant-garde Gothic/Progressive Metal with Jazz and World Fusion influences.

Country : France

Hailing from the highly innovative French Metal scene is Akphaezya combining Progressive Metal with some very enjoyable soft Jazz, samples of instruments from across the world and some harsh vocals for aggression and packing it all tight into one album. The album almost effortlessly shifts genres, be it piano driven easy listen jazz to distorted guitars with harsh vocals and back, every track on this album has something new to offer.
One of the reasons why this album is so interesting is the vocalist and painist Nehl Aëlin who can pull of growls, extemely fast high pitched singing, operatic yet non sopranoish vocals, broadway vocals, eastern tone and whispers and utilizing them at precisely right time to perfectly complement the music played.
As far as the music goes, at some points your not quite sure which instrument is being played and the transitions between some bass and drum thumping to a sweeping melody with piano and guitars to a very catchy chorus is executed flawlessly. The inclusion of samples from various cultures to their music has not been overdone and is an added advantage to their music. Well fitted and memorable solos, a very clear bass tone, joyful piano and complementing drums make this album a memorable listen.
Approach with an open mind and you should love this.

Enjoy!