The oud is a melancholy instrument; it seems to have loss and longing built into its very strings. These resonant songs build on that melancholy, but they offer more than that, too: in his symbiotic relationship with fellow oud player (and brother) Wissam, Samir Joubran finds companionship and perhaps redemption as well. Though they're stunning musicians, the Joubrans never overwhelm you with
technique. Tamaas builds on feeling, speaking to the thoughtful, sad and hopeful in each listener.
Enchanting music
This is a highly recommended record for anyone interested in quality instrumental music that reflects thought, philosophy and craftsmanship. I really enjoyed listening to this CD over and over again, it's very soothing when I feel like reading a book with the music in the background, yet it's highly intellectual when I'm in the mood for carefully examining the music and analyzing it. I actually recently saw Samir Joubran perform in Ramallah, Palestine along with his two brothers. They performed their new CD (that hasn't come out yet as of 1/18/05), Randane, which is a conversational improvisation between three Ouds. I have to say that I'm very eager for the release of Randane, because I tremendously enjoyed listening to it live in Ramallah, and I highly recommend it shall it become available on Amazon.
Meditation with great depth, October 20, 2004 By
Track 2 travels in a musical caravan across space and time into an inner world of meditation and reflection. Like the words of Jesus, Tamaas-track 2 of this rising music star of Nazareth, speaks of human resilience which is larger than life. It speaks of the passage of time during a 3-week Israeli military siege of Ramallah under which this music was born. You can feel the waiting inside this piece, the danger, wondering, contemplation, reflection. The music in this album is music of meditation with great depth...highly recommended to everyone.
Samir Joubran is the son of an oud maker and he has grown up to be a master of the instrument, as has his brother, who is a major part of this album. The fraternal communication they share is quite astonishing, making for some remarkable duet playing -- and they share the same spirit for inhabiting moods on this disc. As Palestinians living in Italy, much of the disc seems infused with the somber sorrow of their people. There is plenty of room for improvisation, as can be found on the epic "Ramallah August 10." This isn't classical Arab music, by any means, with its traditional structures. Instead, despite the frequently solemn mood, there is a richly elegant beauty to Joubran's compositions that often catches fire in emotions, as on the title cut, and takes flight making it especially accessible to Western listeners for whom the strictures of the Arab classical form seem impenetrable. The music has plenty of room to breathe and flow here, and Joubran makes sure it does -- just listen to "Khalaas," for an example. The playing is as exquisite as the compositions, offering something truly gorgeous and the kind of thing to draw you in and capture you.
by Chris Nickson from AMG
1. Khiyanat Mariha
2. Tamaas
3. Tanaas
4. Sama'e Bayat
5. Khalaas
6. Takaseem
7. Ramallah August 10
8. Nesf el Akhar/Astoria
Oud – Samir Joubran, Wissam Joubran
