Codex

Life can be tough as a percussionist, particularly if you’re a solo artist. Live performance is one thing, but getting known usually depends on producing albums – usually in collaboration with others. This solo percussion album is a difficult one to review and I’m not entirely convinced that it works. Three-quarters of an hour of solo tombak (Persian goblet drum) might make a fitting soundtrack to an hour of meditation, perhaps. But for active listening it's more of a challenge. It lacks the variety of rhythms, textures and sonorities found in the music of the Iranian/Afghan ensemble Zarbang, for instance, and in places is reminiscent of Steve Reich's Drumming composition only with, again, less variety.

Perhaps the point of this album is its simplicity, but I can’t help feeling that more thought could perhaps have been given to what the listener might get out of it. At the very least, there could have been some liner notes on the Iranian percussion tradition – its instruments, rhythms, and so on. It pains me not to be able to give this CD a higher rating: Mohammad Reza Mortazavi is a five-star performer and anyone interested in world music should really see him perform.