CD ECM Records Kayhan Kalhor, Erdal Erzincan: The Wind

2006

Kayhan Kalhor - kamanche
Erdal Erzincan - baglama
Ulas Özdemir - divan baglama

Made up of twelve unnamed “Parts” that run into each other, The Wind is really one long improvisation that rises and falls, inhales and exhales as Kalhor and Erzincan become one musician with one mind.
Budd Kopman, All About Jazz

Ghazal’s The Rain was a lush and rapturous affair, and the title of Kalhor’s new disc implies a thematic sequel, even though he has changed partners. His main instrument is the kamancheh, or spike fiddle, and on The Wind its warm and sinewy tones complement the steely timbre of Erdal Erzincan’s baglama, a type of Turkish lute. Though ostensibly 12 pieces based on Persian and Turkish modes, this is effectively one hour-long instrumental dialogue, with the players elaborating each other’s phrases. The pair’s finely nuanced rapport and sense of narrative make The Wind a compelling record.
Jon Lusk, The Times

After Iranian kamancheh virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor and his group Ghazal’s Grammy-nominated album, The Rain, the elemental tip continues with what is a glorious, searching, mesmerising follow-up. … Here the Turkish baglama master Erdal Erzincan assists in demonstrating the sublime results that come with total musical empathy and infinite amounts of patience. This, then, is improvised music, which takes its cue from the folk and classical traditions of Persia and leaves the strict compositions of much of the Turkish tradition behind. The duo’s gorgeous, free-form arabesques explore a common musical language, undergo what is a veritable airborne voyage of discovery. We eagerly await Kalhor’s next instalment – The Sun?
Jane Cornwell, Jazzwise

In a series of 12 pieces, prosaically named Parts I-XII, Kalhor and Erzincan weave a sustained musical tapestry with the complementary textures of bowed kamancheh and plucked saz. … The two instruments toss around short repeated phrases, spin intricate textural webs and Kalhor suddenly bursts into a sparkling staccato or novel percussive techniques which come like a sudden burst of sunshine.
Simon Broughton, Songlines

Stark, melancholy and highly atmospheric, this is Eastern experimental music of a very high order.
Mark Hudson, Daily Telegraph

It’s a uniquely challenging project: Iranian music emphasizes rigorous improvisation, using only the slightest compositional framework, while Turkish music is much more structured, with solo passages restricted to succinct bursts at designated moments. The mournful songs on The Wind are spontaneous elaborations on traditional material from both Iran and Turkey, and the interplay is astonishing. Kalhor sets long, beautifully vocal-like microtonal lines alongside Erzincan’s alternately terse and liquid single-note runs, and their patient give-and-take flows as naturally as water.
Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader

Kayhan Kalhor is from Iran, an exponent of the kamancheh “spike fiddle” … Now he is looking towards Turkey, with this collaboration with Erdal Erzincan, a master of the baglama, or saz, the longnecked lute. The result is a set of instrumental compositions that flow into each other like one continuous work, with gently drifting passages in which the two instruments echo and improvise on different phrases, matched against more furious passages that sound like flurries of acoustic jazz with a Middle-Eastern edge. Backing the duo is an exponent of the bass baglama, providing a sturdy foundation for the more frantic musical excursions by the two main players. It’s a thoughtful, intriguing work.
Robin Denselow, The Guardian

This Zen-like approach yields a powerful, serene music that builds in waves of sinuous bowed melodies, which often sound like weeping, muscular plucked phrases of great rhythmic oomph, and hypnotic loops of perfect synchronicity. The duo’s unity of spirit comes from simply being open to one another and letting natural harmony lead the way. This music speaks to our fundamental human interconnectedness. We would be wise to listen up.
Sam Prestianni, Jazziz