Sigh of the Moor (2011)
With its debut album Sigh of the Moor, Jadid Ensemble has positioned itself as one of the finest ensembles fusing Middle Eastern music with global sounds. Formed by multi-instrumentalist and composer Glenn Sharp, the Jadid Ensemble is based in Northwest England. The band members have a passion for the music of other nations and cultures. The most visible are flamenco, Turkish, and Arabic music.
Sigh of the Moor is envisioned as “an atmospheric journey through Spain to the Middle-East and beyond.” Sigh of the Moor (or suspiro del moro) is a mountain port from which Boabdil, the last Moorish king of Granada, looked upon Granada after surrendering it to the armies of Queen Isabella of Castile and León and King Ferdinand II of Aragon.
The mesmerizing pieces featured in Sigh of the Moor take the listener to the jasmine and orange blossom perfumed lands of southern Spain and North Africa. Jadid Ensemble use a wide variety of instruments from Spain, Turkey, north Africa and the middle East, including flamenco guitar, oud, Turkish saz, violin, Middle-Eastern percussion, flutes, neys and mizmar.
The line-up on the album includes Glenn Sharp on guitars, cumbus, saz, oud, bass, piano, and percussion; Olivia Moore on violin; Paul Cheneour on flutes, neys; and Adam Warne on darbukas and frame drums.
Sigh of the Moor is a remarkable debut album of beautiful melodic pieces and fiery percussion that captures the essence of southern Spain and the Middle East.
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Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
