Beginning in the late '90s as half of the duo
Vas (with percussionist
Greg Ellis), one-third of the group
Niyaz (with
Loga Ramin Torkian and
Carmen Rizzo), and on her own,
Azam Ali quietly established a reputation as one of the purest, most captivating voices in world music. But
Elysium for the Brave elevates
Ali to a whole other level. The second solo album by the Iran-born, India-raised, L.A.-dwelling
Ali is -- there's no subtle way to put it -- a masterwork, a stunningly whole, utterly fulfilling creation that forces a reconsideration not only of her own capabilities but of the inherent possibilities of the world fusion genre. Whereas
Ali's previous work often verged on new age, its breathy gentleness alluring but ultimately limiting, on
Elysium Ali -- who wrote the album's lyrics and co-produced it with
Rizzo -- hurls herself into the void, allows creative vision to intervene and takes her vocal instrument to places it never before indicated it could go. Now singing some of her material in English, and further blurring the lines between traditional acoustic instrumentation and electronic synthetics,
Ali interlaces the vocal and the instrumental, the new and the old, the spiritual and the erotic, into one seamlessly sewn quilt of atmospheres, textures, and unexpected, breathtaking leaps. Joined by the members of
Niyaz,
King Crimson's
Trey Gunn and
Pat Mastelotto, Persian classical violinist Kiavash Nourai, and others,
Azam Ali has created a thing of beauty and wonder in
Elysium for the Brave. ~ Jeff Tamarkin