Iranian kamancheh (spike fiddle) player Kayhan Kalhor has been exploring the improvisational possibilities at the nexus of Persian and North Indian music for nearly a decade with his cooperative group Ghazal. With The Wind he forges a new musical relationship with Turkish baglama player Erdal Erzincan and divan baglama player Ulas Ozdemir for a set of improvisations, this time at the nexus where Persia and Turkey meet. The baglama, or saz, is an oud-like instrument with a longer neck and seven strings divided into two pairs and one set of three. The divan baglama is a bass saz typically used to create a harmonic foundation—a tradition perpetuated through Õzdemir's role during this hour-long continuous performance. The disc is broken into twelve tracks that signal shifts in direction, but The Wind is really best absorbed as a whole. Kalhor and Erzincan orbit around the Persian and Turkish music that's at the core of these improvisations, creating the magic that distinguishes this recording. The kamancheh has a deeper resonance that's closer to a viola than a violin.
شـمـشـیـر آبــدار کـشـیـدی بـر اهـل عـشـق
دولت بـود که ضربـی از آن سوی ما چـکد
امیر خسرو دهلوی
استاد کیهان کلهر : کمانچه
اردل ارزنجان: بائلاما