WOMAD

Adel Salameh Trio

From Algeria, Palestine

There are few musical instruments that, on hearing just a smattering of notes, transport you to another part of the planet as swiftly as the oud does. Get anywhere within earshot of its dust-dry, spiky tones and you’re instantly lifted on wings of song to the Arab world. Adel Salameh is surely one of the world’s finest oud players, one who’s introduced the instrument to audiences the world over. Although classically trained, Adel refuses to hold his music in some kind of fly-trapped-in-amber reverence and, having moved to Europe in 1990, he’s been afforded the opportunity to work with musicians from many countries and traditions, from Spain to Iran and beyond. His 1996 album (with K.Sridhar) on our own WOMAD label, The Arab Path To India, is just one example of a bold and curious mind. A proud Palestinian, he also sees no contradiction in performing alongside Israeli musicians. For Adel, it’s a very natural, unselfconscious thing, one whose message – while far-sighted and noble – should never overshadow the actual music being made. And what music he makes. By turns melancholic, intense and uplifting, it’s forever compelling. If Ry Cooder ever picked up an oud, he’d sound a lot like Adel Salameh. These are his lonesome Arabic blues.