Pierre Bensusan has been pursuing his unique amalgam of Celtic, world music and chamber jazz since the late ’70s. He frequently combines looping and his voice along with his unique DADGAD tuning on guitar. His music is most often solo or overdubbed guitar, only occasionally enlisting the aid of other instrumentalists.
“Fils De La Rose,” the opening track on Azwan, is an appropriate introduction. While he typically eschews other performers, the results when he does so are striking. Here Bensusan’s lovely playing is complemented by the violin of Christopher Cravero.
The French-Algerian guitarist often whistles along with his playing, as on “Optimystical.” While it can sometimes be off-putting, here it is simply another voice making a brief appearance. The same is true of Bensusan’s wordless vocals, which are as much another instrument as lyric-delivering device. They are used to great effect on “Abeilles,” overdubbed and stacked atop one another, reaching higher and higher before the final coda from his guitar.
The wistful melody of “Without You” is a highlight, while a string trio of Bensusan, Cravero and Stéphane Kerecki on bass on “Dia Libre” is another. The former is gently swinging, while on the latter unison runs give way to complementary individual parts.
Like many other musicians, Pierre Bensusan’s touring plans were scuttled by the COVID-19 pandemic, and he turned to creating Azwan instead. The audiences’ loss is the gain of listeners to this exquisite gem of a recording.
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