Beautiful World

Album Review

Jordanian composer Zade Dirani's third release, Beautiful World, offers the world music community a fresh, bright new direction. With two records now under his belt, it seems that Zade's artistic identity has blossomed into something truly unique. Featuring the strongest, clearest sense of Arabic influence and aesthetic, Beautiful World has a maturity and sophistication head and shoulders above his previous works. Recorded in Beirut with local musicians, the album focuses in sharply on the beauty offered by the region and her musicians, often overlooked by the world music genre. Arrangements featuring oud, nay, bouzouk, and all varieties of Arabic percussion will lead western listeners through dark, mysterious gardens of textures and tonalities never before heard. The compositions are sensitive and sensual, including some solo pieces that offer a glimpse of Zade's instrumental grace and skill that is often masked in larger ensembles. As the world yearns for a relationship with and understanding of the Arab world, Zade offers up a clear perspective of his culture's dignity, beauty and humanity. As the political world shifts, so may the musical world's attention shift in its focus, thanks in no small part to artists of complexity and vision such as Zade. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi