Hicaz DolapLaco TayfaLaco Tayfa represents a new synthesis within the Turkish Roman (Gypsy) tradition. Under the leardership of clarinetist Husnu Senlendirici, Laco Tayfa brings Turkish regional folk music into dialogue with contemporary world music styles, fired by a driving improvisational style. This unification is achieved in Hicaz Dolap at such a level that listeners will find themselves caught up in a journey to the edges of a harmonious whole that is composed of incongruous melodic structures. Every instrument breathes on their own in this album; instruments that once are thought to be archrivals merge in great harmony.
Who gave birth to the funk, Joe Tex used to ask? For Husnu Senlendirici, clarinet and leader of Laco Tayfa, the answer is clear - Gypsy musicians from the Aegean Turkish town of Bergama, famous in the country for its bands where the classic zurna and davul are coupled with clarinet and snare drum. Husnu comes from a lineage of musicians, trumpet and clarinet players, so much that his family name means "those who celebrate" (the name of the band is half Turkish half Romany, meaning something like "good team" or "happy company"). His father, Ergun, was an amazing trumpet player, whose unique jazz style was featured in Okay Temiz's Magnetic Band; under the percussionist, Senlendirici also took his first steps.
Their first album Bergama Gaydasi was very successful and is well worth seeking out. To add to the basic ingredients of Turkish-Gypsy dance music and 70's funk, Laco Tayfa looks toward other forms of Turkish pop: arabesk, belly dance, and "anatolian ska" as premiered by the best selling group Athena, whose vocalists are guesting on a track here. The CD takes its title from a piece that is often played as an introduction to a belly dance number, and serves as a showcase for the soloists, who take turns in the central section improvising on the makam Hicaz. |
