The Tunisian oud master Anouar Brahem has chosen to work in a trio setting this time out, accompanied by Francois Couturier on piano and Jean-Louis Matinier on accordion. Brahem states in the liner notes that these pieces were actually composed on the piano, emerging while he was taking a much-needed short break from his primary instrument. While Pas de Chat Noir ("The Black Cat's Footsteps") is a change of pace, it is a not a terribly remote detour. Brahem is still in his favorite space, exploring the power of implication, and the other players are in synch with his vision. All three participants sound muted, relating to one another in parallels rather than in a heated dialogue. The result is a spacious, romantic pastiche of Farid El-Atrache, Astor Piazzolla, Keith Jarrett, 19th- and 20th-century French impressionists (especially Eric Satie), plus shades of every strung-out, enervated, after-hours nightclub jam that ever was. --Christina Roden
