The Taksim Trio gave one of the standout showcases of last year's WOMEX in
Seville. Of the three instrumentalists, Hüsnü S¸enlendirici has the highest
profile as one of Turkey's top clarinettists - his last album sold over 160,000
copies and topped the Turkish charts for weeks. But kanun (zither) player Aytaç
Dog?an and electric saz player Ismail Tunçbilek form a beautifully balanced
ensemble in a way that feels quite classical and traditional, yet which is
actually quite bold and experimental in its approach.
Taksim is the name of
the busy square at the heart of Istanbul's Beyog?lu district (pictured on the
album's cover), but also the word for an instrumental improvisation in Turkish
classical music. The music certainly feels fresh and improvised, although I
suspect it is more pre-planned than it sounds. The three instrumentalists emerge
from the trio to take solo breaks and then dive back in to toss around short
phrases and motifs. Always there are the three distinct textures of dark
clarinet, filigree kanun and saz veering towards electric guitar. Each of them
gets a solo improvisational taksim track to really show off their skills, but
it's in the organic interaction of the trio that this album really shines, as in
the wistful closing `Muhayyer Kürdi Saz Semaisi'. Turkish classical, popular
music and jazz seem to combine on a genuinely equal footing. The album would
benefit from a little more exuberance and fire, but will appeal to newcomers to
Turkish music as well as cognoscenti. And we already know that they're
sensational live.
Simon Broughton
Seville. Of the three instrumentalists, Hüsnü S¸enlendirici has the highest
profile as one of Turkey's top clarinettists - his last album sold over 160,000
copies and topped the Turkish charts for weeks. But kanun (zither) player Aytaç
Dog?an and electric saz player Ismail Tunçbilek form a beautifully balanced
ensemble in a way that feels quite classical and traditional, yet which is
actually quite bold and experimental in its approach.
Taksim is the name of
the busy square at the heart of Istanbul's Beyog?lu district (pictured on the
album's cover), but also the word for an instrumental improvisation in Turkish
classical music. The music certainly feels fresh and improvised, although I
suspect it is more pre-planned than it sounds. The three instrumentalists emerge
from the trio to take solo breaks and then dive back in to toss around short
phrases and motifs. Always there are the three distinct textures of dark
clarinet, filigree kanun and saz veering towards electric guitar. Each of them
gets a solo improvisational taksim track to really show off their skills, but
it's in the organic interaction of the trio that this album really shines, as in
the wistful closing `Muhayyer Kürdi Saz Semaisi'. Turkish classical, popular
music and jazz seem to combine on a genuinely equal footing. The album would
benefit from a little more exuberance and fire, but will appeal to newcomers to
Turkish music as well as cognoscenti. And we already know that they're
sensational live.
Simon Broughton
Track List
1.Biçare
2.Gözüm
3.Baglama Solo
4.Derdin Ne
5.Güle Yel Degdi
6.Klarnet Solo
7.Gitti de Gitti
8.Kanun Solo
9.Belalim
10.Ussak Oyun Havasi
11.Muhayyer Kürdi Saz Semaisi
Download HERE
Download HERE
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