See also: Asia, SW Fiddle and Bow

Sulukule Rom Music of Istanbul Traditional Crossroads (www.rootsworld.com/crossroads/ ) Sulukule is named for a Rom neighborhood in Istanbul. The native Turkish group on the album consists of clarinet, ud, kanun, hand drum, and, especially prominent, the violin of Kemani Cemal Cinarh. At seventy years of age, Cemal still cooks. His technique is flawless and his rubato solos are filled with passion and profound knowledge of maqam. Cinarh is given plenty of room to stretch out and improvise. He occasionally resorts to a whistle-like tone (possibly bowing close to the bridge) that I have heard from other "Islamic" influenced soloists. Bigah Ahmet on clarinet and Ismail Sencal on kanun (West Asian zither) also contribute some strong solos. Much of the music sounds more Arab than Turkish. This is not Turkish classical music, instead it sounds like a sort of pan-Islamic dance music. Most of the pieces begin with the ensemble performing in typical West Asian heterophonic style followed by the three vocalists singing in unison. Then an instrument jumps right into takasim-like explorations of maqam, followed by a fade out on one of the above sections. There are no rough edges in this instrumental quintet. All are brilliant, seasoned musicians. According the notes, several original songs are arranged in current "pop" fashion, the remainder are a variety of ciftetelli dances. (Here ciftetelli refers to takasim solos over a tonic drone and steady, rhythmic percussion ostinatos in various meters.) The excellent liner notes place the music in context as well as give information about the mode and meter. - Stacy Phillips Sound sample is from the album published by Traditional Crossroads. © 1998. Used by permission.