The Music of Cyprus...

I thought I was going to see the group Arabesque at Club Passim but it turned out to be an evening of Turkish, Cypriot and Greek music, in conjunction with Arabesque. Nevertheless, it proved to be a smashing event, what with the bassy, twangy oud (played by Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol), the brisk and nimble dumbek of Karim Nagi, the resounding effects of the daf (also by Nagi) , various lyra and lutes (Panayiotis League) and some plaintive work on the violin by the stunning Eylem Basaldi-- in addition to the very soulful manner of Turkish singing. Great foot-tapping rhythms, very skilled performance on the oud.

Of particular note was a fine piece of Mevlevi Sufi music, the Sem-i-Ruhuna, in which Sanlikol breathes into the ney most musically...