Released for his 60th birthday, Blue Maqams offers many reasons to celebrate. It brings the Tunisian oud master together with three brilliant improvisers : the "Maqams" of the title refers to the Arabic modal music system, rendered kind of blue by the jazz players. Brahem meets Jack DeJohnette and British pianist Django Bates for the first time here. All musicians rise superbly to the challenge of Brahem’ compositions.

Anouar Brahem, born in Tunis in 1957, was ten when he began studying the oud at the National Conservatory in the city, and later pursued his apprenticeship with the great master Ali Sriti. As Stephane Ollivier has written: "Brahem is the ouds conjuror, a master at bringing out the acoustic magic which this age-old traditional Oriental lute carries inside its calabash : the musical heritage of the Arab and Islamic worlds". Brahem undertook a mission to restore the oud to the status of an emblematic solo instrument in Arab music, and at the same time expanded the tradition by working with musicians from other idioms.