After The Last Sky

前作『Blue Maqams』から8年、アヌアル・ブラヘムが詩人マフムード・ダルウィーシュの詩の一節にちなんだタイトルを持つ、痛烈なプロジェクトで戻ってきた!

ウード、チェロ、ピアノ、ベースのための優美な室内楽曲は、この形而上学的な問いかけと、困難な時代におけるその広範な共鳴にさりげなく取り組んでいる。ブラヘムは、アラブ音楽の伝統的な様式を用いながらも、一貫してより広い世界との関わりを求め、異なる文化圏の多くの情報源からインスピレーションを得てきた。ベーシストのデイヴ・ホランドとピアニストのジャンゴ・ベイツは、このチュニジアのウード・マスターの国際的なカルテットの一員であり、今回はチェリストのアニヤ・レヒナーが加わったことで現在のECMの最高峰ともいえる世界を展開している。

ブラヘムとホランドの関係は、1998年のアルバム『Thimar』で初めて確立されたもので、伝説となっている。「デイヴの演奏は私に翼を与えてくれる」とアヌアルは語っているが、この見解はレコードの中で繰り返し具体化されている。ジャンゴ・ベイツのピアノは、全体を支える重要な力であり、うねるようなソロに貢献している。このアルバムは、アヌアルが初めてチェリストをグループに加えた作品であり、レコーディングの中心的存在であるアニヤ・レヒナーは、長年ブラエムの作品に親しんでおり、自身のリサイタルでも取り上げている。チェロはここで最初と最後の発言を与えられている。

本作は、2024年5月にルガーノのオーディトリオ・ステリオ・モロRSIで録音され、マンフレート・アイヒャーがプロデュースした。このアルバムは、ブラヘム・カルテットがフランス、ドイツ、オランダ、スイス、ベルギーでのコンサートを含むヨーロッパ・ツアーに出発する際に発表された。

＜パーソネル＞Anouar Brahem (oud) Anja Lechner (violoncello) Django Bates (p) Dave Holland (double b)

Oudist and composer Anouar Brahem has kept a low profile since 2017s Blue Maqams. He appeared with Anja Lechner and Francois Couturier on Lontano, but has otherwise been absent. Brahem enlists longtime collaborator/bassist Dave Holland and pianist Django Bates -- both appeared on Blue Maqams. Lechner appears in place of the last albums drummer, Jack DeJohnette, and is the first cellist to appear on one of Brahems LPs. Recorded in Switzerland, it was produced by Manfred Eicher. The albums name echoes the title of a 1986 book by cultural critic, activist, and author Edward Said, and was derived from a line by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish: "Where should the birds fly, after the last sky?" Begun before October 6, 2023, it is nonetheless deeply inspired by the horror and suffering experienced by Palestinians in Gaza. Brahem wrote new compositions and reworked some of the earlier ones to communicate and evoke raw emotion about this situation. Lechners poignant cello is primary, up front. She and Brahem move through Eastern modes and motifs, blurring the lines between folk, classical, and jazz. Opener "Remembering Hind" is a case in point. Under two minutes, the cello and piano deliver Brahems minor-key melody with nearly processional grace and, despite the relative quiet, rippling emotion. The title track, at nearly six minutes, commences with an oud solo that foreshadows the melody. When Bates enters, he accedes to the restraint, at least until the cellist joins in, and it becomes a melancholy fantasia. The interplay between Holland and Brahem is almost symbiotic. "The Eternal Olive Tree," an oud/bass duet, showcases warmly dissonant harmonies in a celebration of survival and resilience. The duo embrace the blues directly in highlighting Gazas struggle alongside modal and jazz motivics in their improvisation. "Awake," the sets hinge track, melds classical crossover, Tunisian folk styles, and restrained improv. The bass pattern that introduces "Dancing Under the Meteorites" is a constant pulse that evolves into a tango vamp. Lechner and Bates play around it, touching on the style in their joint conversation until Brahems contrapuntal solo cements the tune as gorgeous tango-jazz fusion. He offers another lengthy improvisation on the bittersweet, musically riveting "The Sweet Oranges Of Jaffa"; Lechner joins him and delivers her own. Her long experience of improvised music guides her interaction with Brahem and underscores the harmonic invention in her solo. It and the labyrinthine, poignant, inventive "Never Forget" are offered here as hymns of remembrance, adding depth and dimension. Its followed by the tender piano and cello duet "Edward Saids Reverie." The set closes with his beloved "Vague," marking the third time hes recorded it. The release also includes a long liner essay (for ECM) by U.S. editor of The London Review of Books Adam Schatz, who is also a noted journalist and critic. He offers key reflections on Brahems music, the Palestinians fight to exist, and the culture around both. After the Last Sky is a reflective, yet powerfully emotional and virtuosic listening experience. ~ Thom Jurek