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"Crescent
Moon "
The
sixth of Brian Keane's long-standing collaboration with master
Middle Eastern musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek, "Crescent Moon" is
perhaps the most ethnically Middle Eastern of their much heralded
releases. The spectacular musicianship and mystical and spiritual
depth are here in abundance. Middle Eastern master musicians Ara
Dinkjian (oud), Arto Tuncboyaciyan (percussion), and Hasan Isikkut
(kanun) are again on this release, as well as the orchestrations
of Brian Keane. Also joining the group on this release is space
musician Steve Roach. Standouts include the fiery "Crescent Moon",
primative Egyptian style pieces "Yalel" and "Tamzara", and the
deeply mystical and dreamlike "Salute to the Sun".
Track
List:
1.
Crescent Moon
2. Yalel
3. Salute To The Sun
4. Tamzara
5. Baglama Delight
6. Hijaz Raks
7. Last Moments Of Love
8. Adanali
9. Azeri
10. Yunus
Release
Date: December 8, 1998
Label: Celestial Harmonies
Reviews:
Amazon.com: 
" Middle
Eastern multi-instrumentalist Omar Tekbilek gets solo billing
for Crescent Moon even though it is produced by longtime collaborator
and keyboardist Brian Keane. Keane also contributes as a musician,
along with fellow synthesizer player Steve Roach and several other
more acoustic performers, but the overall sound is close to Tekbilek's
roots and traditions. With a couple of exceptions (notably 'Salute
to the Sun', a heartfelt ambient piece with some vocals from Tekbilek),
the 10 cuts are upbeat acoustic exercises using percussion and
string and woodwind instruments in traditional settings, with
just the slightest hint of electronic washes in the production.
Not that the music needs any bolstering; it is sonic enough in
its own right. With Crescent Moon, the ancient symbol of the Ottoman
Empire and Islam, Tekbilek builds on his reputation as a master
musician of great integrity who is interpreting ancient music
for today's audience. The liner notes could be a little more informative
about the musicians and the recording." --Derek Rath
"A
bewitching blend of Western and Near Eastern sounds... The artist:
By his teenage years, Omar Faruk Tekbilek was one of Turkey's
most sought after session musicians. A virtuoso performer on the
Near Eastern cane flute (ney) and the Turkish lute, (baglama)
Tekbilek was in demand in both jazz and traditional Turkish/Arab
music circles. Along the way, he has mastered several kinds of
reed instruments, a variety of strings (bowed and plucked), synthesizer,
hand drums, and even the accordion. In 1976, he settled in upstate
New York. Since then, his music has appeared regularly on concert
stages, recordings, and films in the United States, Europe, and
Australia. In addition to a thriving solo career, he has played
with a wide range of other musicians, from the late Don Cherry
to pianist Michael Harrison's Mandala Jones, a band that draws
on the poetry of the great 13th century Sufi poet Rumi. The spirit
of Sufism can be heard in much of Tekbilek's music, especially
in his 1994 solo release WHIRLING and
his 1996 album MYSTICAL GARDEN.
He has also collaborated with producer/keyboardist Brian Keane
on three widely acclaimed recordings: SÜLEYMAN
THE MAGNIFICENT, FIRE DANCE, and
BEYOND THE SKY, and Australian
percussionist Michael Askill on the recording FATA MORGANA, and
SALOME. The project: CRESCENT MOON is a bewitching blend of Western
and Near Eastern sounds. Don't be misled by the presence of synthesizer
wizard Steve Roach, or guitarist Brian Keane, or the guest appearance
by the rollicking Bulgarian saxophonist Yuri Yunakov—this is an
album with clear and deep roots in the ancient legacy of Turkey
and Arabian music. In fact, six of the ten tracks are Tekbilek's
arrangements of traditional folk and classical songs from the
Arab, Turkish, and Armenian traditions. Tekbilek's newest project
also draws on the sounds of Azerbaijani folksong, Persian mysticism,
and classical Arabian belly dancing. He even pays tribute, on
the song Yalel, to the famed Egyptian singer Omm Kulthum. (Tekbilek
himself is half Egyptian.) Working with many of the same musicians
who have made such distinctive contributions to Tekbilek's earlier
albums, he creates a kind of global music—a music that acknowledges
Greek, Indian, and of course Turkish music, and attempts to find
a common ground between all of these. Perhaps his greatest achievement
on CRESCENT MOON is that the album is more than the sum of its
parts: it consistently evokes the ecstatic trance of the Sufi
dervishes, the biting winds of the desert at night, the rich and
exotic scents of an Oriental market, and yet it does so without
clearly staying in any one musical tradition. Much of CRESCENT
MOON is deeply personal. Yunnus is a medley of four Sufi tunes,
and reflects his longtime practice of this mystical branch of
Islam. Adanali is the name both of a folksong and of the town
where Tekbilek was born. The album itself is released as Tekbilek
marks his 47th birthday—and he reports that both the numbers 4
and 7 have had recurring significance throughout his life. (He
has 7 brothers; he was fourth in line; the street address of the
house he grew up in was 47; and CRESCENT MOON is the fourth album
he has made with longtime colleagues Arto Tuncboyaciyan, Ara Dinkjian,
and Hasan Isikkut.) Ironically, this most personal recording is
also easily accessible to Western listeners. By following his
own spiritual impulses, and by ignoring geographic and cultural
boundaries, Tekbilek has forged a pan-Middle Eastern music. CRESCENT
MOON is at once contemplative and exciting, full of lively rhythms
and lovely melodies—timeless, and yet very much of our time."
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