Taqâsîm

In an ideal world an oud (lute) player should be able to release an album safe in the knowledge that it will be judged purely on its own musical merits. However, if your family name is Bashir, it's a little more complicated. The legacy of Omar's charismatic father, Munir – who single-handedly redefined the solo oud in the late 20th century – has cast a long shadow over his son's career, much of which has been dismissed as gimmicky by comparison. In Middle Eastern music, the way in which a taqsim (instrumental improvisation) harnesses the colour and mood of its maqam (Arabic melodic mode) is the ultimate test of a performer's skill, and old man Bashir was considered by many to have been the undisputed master of the genre.

However, while it's probably heresy to say such a thing, many of the performances on this recording show a suppleness, imagination and sense of structure that are more than a match and establish Omar as a worthy musician with his own identity. His handling of the opening Nahâwând mode – which closely resembles a Western C minor scale – is supremely atmospheric, with just the right amount of reverb to serve the instrument's languorous sound. Most crucially of all, these improvisations really do sound as though a musical exploration is taking place as you listen.