KINAN AZMEH AND CITYBAND

LIVE IN BERLIN

Dreyer Gaido/Eastern Voices

Kinan Azmeh, composer/clarinet; Kyle Sanna, guitar; Josh Myers, bass; John Hadfield, drums.

Syrian born, Brooklyn-based composer and clarinetist, Kinan Azmeh presents this quartet at an elevated level of consciousness and artistry. This is Arab jazz and his fourteenth album release. Joined by USA bandmates, their Arabian influenced, jazzy CityBand quartet brings together collective cultures to make a musical statement: a statement against the atrocities that plague our world. Azmeh’s compositions took shape during the 2011 Syrian uprising. Six of Kinan Azmeh’s compositions are deeply personal and meant to reflect his emotional connection to his politicized country.

“The Queen Commanded” opens the album.  It’s a very beautiful but sad ballad, that features the butter smooth clarinet of Azmeh, unfolding the melody like a sunrise.  Azmeh has his own distinctive voice on the clarinet.  He has poured his personal frustrations into this music. As a citizen of Syria and the world, he expresses sadness and hope, like two sides of a coin.  In the breath of musical phrases, you clearly hear his cultural roots on tunes like “The Translator” that dances into my listening room on the wings of minor chord changes and the click of John Hadfield’s drums reminds me of hard shoe heels on wooden floors.

“It moves me profoundly to be sharing this album with the world as my Syrian people are able to sing again after the long and costly struggle against tyranny and dictatorship.  This album is dedicated to all who believe that making music is also an act of freedom,” speaks Kinan Azmeh.

Some of the songs stretch into nine minutes long and longer, like “Daraa.”  In Arabic, this word is a verb that means ‘to know’ or to ‘have knowledge.’ He plays it, using the rich lower clarinet tones to deliver a message. It feels prayerful and lovely to me.  Hadfield’s drums enter midway through the arrangement and soar creatively.  On a song called “Jisreen” Kyle Sanna opens the arrangement with sensuous guitar stroking. This group has been together for two decades and they fit together like familiar puzzle pieces. Azmeh is a commissioned composer, who was a member of the Silkroad Ensemble that won a Grammy Award.

There is a peace wrapped in Azmeh’s music that is palpable, and warm as a baby bunting. I want to hold these compositions close and feel their heartbeat.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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