Rough Guide to Bellydance
The connotations of the title might lead you to consider this the  ultimate sellout to sexual exploitation, but hang on a minute--The Rough  Guide to Bellydancereflects evocation rather than provocation, and covers a  vast and ancient musical terrain. The Western wordsbelly danceprobably  come from an Arabic word meaningcountry. What French colonials calledla danse du ventreand Americans first calledabdomen danceis a  serious and even medicinal art form that goes way back in time. We all know that  dance is a healing art, and this Middle Eastern female form of it is now once  more being seen as such in the West. Every small town in Germany, for instance,  has a studio devoted to it. What we get on this fascinating CD is a conspectus  of styles linking Turkey and Armenia to Chicago and California, where some of  the best belly dance musicians now practice. Tabla players Reda Darwish and  Armando el Mafufo are two of these. Oud virtuoso Rabih Abou-Khalil, who here  contributes a rousing number entitled "The Happy Sheik," with trombones and  Miles-style trumpets, operates from Germany. Each track brings its own  particular atmosphere, ranging from a Damascene nocturnal orgy to the coolest of  dalliances by fountains. The most outstanding tracks are both by Nubian drummer  Mahmoud Fadl: the first builds a serene edifice of filigree solos on drums and  accordion, while the second gives us a tango transfigured by the spirit of the  Orient.--Michael Church