MAJID BEKKAS - Makenba (Igloomondo)

Atmospheric meeting of classically trained Moroccan multi-instrumentalist Bekkas and a host of fine musicians from Africa, Europe and the Americas. Bekka’s guimbri bass is at the centre, purposefully pushing a groove around which snake Louis Sclavis’s clarinet (and sax on the slightly over-jazzed title track) and Aly Keita’s trusty balafon, which as always provides unshowy light rhythms ans melodic flavour. A smattering of north African percussion is given added texture by Argentine Minino Garay’s snappy drumbeat and Majid is a fine oud player too, and possesses an attention-holding deep, dark and expressive voice. It’s on the stropped back, poised Louhid, where those two instruments are left to their own devices (with minimal percussive encouragement) that this interesting album hits an emotional, poetic peak.

www.igloorecords.be

RAJERY, BALLAKE SISSOKO, DRISS EL MALOUMI - 3MA (Madagascar, Mali, Maroc) (Contre-Jour)

Let's get the dreaded 'f' word out of the way before we start – yes, this is a fusion of sounds from disparate parts of western, northern and south-eastern Africa, but the pieces on this sumptuously produced album have been carefully honed to produce a coalition rather than a clash of styles (it would have been quite something to witness the early improvisational sessions and concerts that led to these sympathetically structured arrangements).
Comparisons have been made in the past between the valiha – the tubular bamboo zither of Madagascar - and the kora, and the two instruments dovetail well here. Malian kora maestro Ballaké Sissoko largely restrains from embarking on rippling, improvisational runs, giving space to Rajery's bright, chiming phrasing on the valiha. The result is a flowing, delicately-spiced tunefulness, which by definition compromises the individuality of these two great musicians but in favour of an unforced, intuitive union between the two. Two instruments become one in the most satisfactory way, but left to their own devices they might well have lacked a weighty, deeper tone, which is where the striking oud work of Morocco's Driss El Maloumi comes in.
There's a strong virtuoso feel to his playing as he drives out a dry, fretted bass groove whilst picking out notes that flit around the melodic base provided by Rajery and Sissoko. The result is a pleasing variety of approaches - slow, reflective numbers are mixed with ringing mid-tempo tunes; subtle Arabic flavours, Manding rhythms and summery Indian Ocean melodies are given an airing; and each musician embarks on constrained, well-timed solos. They all get an occasional opportunity to stretch their vocal chords as well (Rajery's soulful falsetto is always a welcome sound), and each takes a solo piece too, which teasingly serve to underline the excellence of the individual elements deployed on this exquisitely put-together album. Three master musicians, one masterful collection of beautifully rendered harmonic interplay.

Contre Jour

NATACHA ATLAS AND THE MAZEEKA ENSEMBLE - Ana Hina (World Village)

A gorgeous album laid out on a sumptuously arranged base of small-ensemble strings. Could this be Natacha's best album yet?
There was some claim to the British singer of North African descent's last album deserving that description and, as appealing as that album was, Mish Maoul was something of a mish-mash in styles that worked well but in retrospect lacked the focus of a consistent style or approach.
Contrastingly, this is by far the most traditionally 'Arabic' of Natacha's albums, feeling like the end of a path that has taken her from framing a unique interpretation of Arabic pop with modern beats, through tributes to some of the great North African pop divas past and present, to this her most acoustic of recordings (oud, accordion, violins and the shuffling rhythm of the darbucka being the main instruments).
Lush (but not overbearing) covers of classic artists Fairuz and Abdel Halim Hafez sit alongside well-judged original compositions (usually stripped back, no risk of over-ambition spoiling the mood). A smouldering reprise of Mish Maoul's Hayati Inta (complete with a nod to Booker T and the MGs) sums up the intimate but arresting mood, and on La Vida Callada (The Unspoken Life), Atlas is joined by Clara Sanabras, the two vocalists weaving their voices around each other with Sanabras drawing a vibrant performance from her counterpart.
Indeed, on previous albums this marriage might not have worked, because there was always the danger that Natacha's breathy but lightweight vocals would be blown away by the instrumentation. Here, they rest exquisitely within subtly enhancing arrangements, and it's only the overly-reverential cover of Nina Simone's version of Black Is The Colour that prevents Ana Hina from being that rare creature, an album that works perfectly from start to finish.

World Village