Music / Joseph Tawadros Quartet. At The Street Theatre, Canberra, March 1. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY

IT’S musicians and composers like Joseph Tawadros who change music and develop new and exciting sounds by constantly pushing the boundaries.

The Joseph Tawadros Quartet returned to Canberra with its popular blend of middle-eastern, classical and contemporary jazz. The band members are Joseph Tawadros, oud; James Tawadros, riq and bendir (Egyptian percussion); Karl Dunncliff, double bass; and Matt McMahon, piano.

Conjuring music from across styles and genres, the sound created by the Joseph Tawadros Quartet moves the listener. However, this music does more than just make a listener feel something. It transcends traditional and known formats. But what it is most, is alive. Alive with the voice of cultures and heartbeats.

The almost-capacity audience in The Street was made up of people from many cultures, as was the music. They are drawn to this sound that comes from the oud, and the storytelling of the enigmatic Joseph Tawadros. The oud has a sound that speaks of history, and when it’s amplified like it was in this concert, listeners get to hear the full complexity of its character.

This quartet has a contemporary jazz sound. The oud adds a unique voice, which makes their music stand out. And the fact that Joseph Tawadros can seem to create any sound he likes from it. His oud mimicked the sitar, the lute and guitar, and other instruments. Added to this, McMahon on piano took the lead several times and even had Joseph declaring that his solos were astounding, which they were.

Joseph Tawadros likes to banter with his audience. While most of it is of a comical nature, you can feel his need to say things about politics and race, with justified reason. His storytelling added to the special music they create, and made for one entertaining show.

Joseph performed as a duo with his brother James, who played a variety of percussion instruments, this was a highlight. While they seemed distant and somewhat separate on stage, the music was not. The song they played together titled “Reason and Passion” perfectly fitted the music.

After several pieces and even a parody of “Working Class Man” by Jimmy Barnes, the audience was in the band’s groove. The songs “Bluegrass Nikriz” and “Forbidden Fruit” wowed everyone there, who were at this stage sounding like groupies. Some songs crossed so many genres they sounded like a mixture of pop, Hollywood and torch tunes; the diversity was endless.

It’s rare to see an audience interact with the musicians the way they did, and with Joseph constantly egging them on and teasing them, he had everyone in a joyous mood.

What was said to be the final song came as some relief. It was a long concert at two-and-a-half hours with no interval, but then they hit the audience with an encore. After one final amazing performance, the fans gave them a richly deserved standing ovation.