The Astounding Eyes of Rita

2009 studio album by Anouar Brahem

Studio album by

Anouar Brahem

Released

September 25, 2009 (2009-09-25)

Recorded

October 2008 (2008-10)

Studio

Artesuono Studio
Udine, Italy

Genre

Jazz

Length

52:17

Label

ECM
ECM 2075

Producer

Manfred Eicher

Anouar Brahem chronology

Le voyage de Sahar
(2006)

The Astounding Eyes of Rita
(2009)

Souvenance
(2014)

The Astounding Eyes of Rita is an album by Tunisian oud player and composer Anouar Brahem recorded for ECMin Italy, October 2008 and released on September 25, 2009.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Guardian	^[2]

Writing for The Guardian, reviewer John Fordham observed "In recent years, Brahem's work has been more refined and reflective than groove-inclined, but this vivacious quartet set marks a return to the chemistry of Thimar, and it's a richly varied and often thrilling piece of world-jazz."^[2]

Writing for All About Jazz, John Kelman noted "After two discs of sparer chamber music, it's great to hear Brahem back with a pulse; but with Meyer, Gesing, and Yassine as partners, he's retained the elusive mystery of albums like Le pas du chat noir (2002), making The Astounding Eyes of Rita his most aesthetically unified album to date."^[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Anouar Brahem

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Lover of Beirut"	7:44
2.	"Dance with Waves"	3:56
3.	"Stopover at Djibouti"	6:34
4.	"The Astounding Eyes of Rita"	8:41
5.	"Al Birwa"	4:51
6.	"Galilee mon amour"	7:17
7.	"Waking State"	7:48
8.	"For No Apparent Reason"	6:35
Total length:		52:17