Brahem does not attempt to synthesise the globe, or even the sounds of the East with those of the West. He is content knowing that sound is infinite, and that his tradition, as it evolves and expands into a deeper pan-African/trans-Asian whole, is more than large enough for a master musician to rummage through in one lifetime. Astrakan Café, the follow-up to his brilliant Thimar, is a recording that reaches farther into the deep crags of the Balkans.

With Barbaros Erköse playing the clarinet and the Indian and Turkish percussion stylings of the professor of somber precision, Lassad Hosni, Brahem's oud enters into a musical dialogue that has not existed previously (although he has collaborated with both players in the past). Erköse is a Turkish clarinetist of gypsy origin. His low, warm, rounded tones are consonant with the oud. Erköse plays equal parts music of the Balkan and Arab worlds with a tinge of the ancient klezmorim whispering their secrets through his horn. Despite the journeying these musicians do here, they never stray far from the takht, a small ensemble capable of improvising to the point of drunken ecstasy.

Listening to Astrakan Café, you can enjoy gypsy flamenco tied deeply with Indian ragas and even  Eastern jazz. But it does not sound hyperactive in any way, the band does not need to cram as many traditions as possible into one mix only to express nothing but to be novel. Astrakan Café has many highlights: its two title tracks have their roots in music from Russia and Azerbaijan; "Ashkabad," which is an improvisation on melodies from the folk music of Turkmenistan; "Astara," a modal improvisation based on love songs from Azerbaijan; "Halfounie," is a Brahem-composed soundtrack inspired by the medina or marketplace in Tunis; and "Parfum de Gitanie," which takes a fragment from Ethiopian sacred music, slows it to the point of stillness, and waxes lazily and jazzily over the top, with the oud and the clarinet trading syncopated eights.

This is deeply personal, profound music. It is also highly iconographic, with timelessness woven through every measure. The only "exotica" on Astrakan Café is its "otherness" out of space and any discernable era. The tempos are languid and full of purpose, the dynamics clean and clearly demarcated, the tones and modes warm, rich, and linear. This would be traditional music if a tradition such as this - which is original, though adapted from many sources on inspiration - actually existed.

Whether at a concert hall or opera house, theatre or ballet - a permanent artistic ensemble is standard for most cultural institutions.
In the jazz genre however, jazz big bands tend to be found only at public service radio stations.
In the past, there were various initiatives to establish a permanent location in Berlin in which to play jazz, but for a long time these were in vain - until the birth of the LITTLE BIG BAND - the in-house World Jazz ensemble of the WERKSTATT DER KULTUREN. A novelty.

The in-house World Jazz ensemble of the WERKSTATT DER KULTUREN, 'LITTLE BIG BAND', is a dynamic ensemble of jazz and world musicians whose members change according to whose world jazz compositions are being performed.

Within the framework of HOMAGE SESSION RELOADED, the fixed core of musicians are aided by colleagues from the THE SOUND ROUTES project - depending on what type of work of a respective world jazz composer is played and interpreted.

Saxophonist Fuasi Abdul-Khaliq is the band leader of the LITTLE BIG BAND and curator of the concert series HOMAGE SESSION RELOADED.

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The WERKSTATT DER KULTUREN is sponsored bye the senate departement of culture and Europe.