Hicham Chami - Promises: Oriental Classical Music - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Cheb Nacim - Algerian Rai [COMPACT DISCS] date 01/16/2007

The JAZZPAR Prize, organized by the Danish Jazz Centre and sponsored by Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni between 1990 and 2004, was the world's major international jazz award of the period. On the one hand, each year a Danish musician was selected by a committee of compatriots to appear in concert with the addition of one or two guest performers from other countries. And, on the other hand, an international committee was appointed for choosing a musician of wide-ranging reputation to receive the major cash award and perform with a Danish ensemble. The year 1995 marked a very special stage in the development of the project, for one reason in particular. It was probably assumed by most people that the winners of the international award would always be from the U.S.A., even if this didn't necessarily represent the views of the sponsors or the organizers. It took until 2001 before the international prize was given to a Danish recipient but, for the 1995 presentation, a major step was taken in choosing the first non-American international award-winner, Anthony George Coe.

Essam Imarhan - From the heart of Tamanrasset in South Algeria, Imarhan transcend Tuareg tradition, weaving hypnotic synths into desert blues. The result is a timeless work-deeply respectful of their roots, yet alive with a stirring sense of modernity.