One of the stalwarts of ARC's stable of performers,
Huseyin Turkmenler is an exceptional saz player by any measure. Here, he presents a relatively basic set of bellydance-related tunes. The qanun and saz combine throughout the album to form some very nice maqamat renditions, but the percussion invariably juts in to force a dance rhythm upon the proceedings. Realistically though, this is the key to the album: sheer, danceable riffs of Turkish delight. The violins provide a lush backdrop for the performances, and the drummers a rhythm to keep it on track. The delight though is the solo string performers: saz and qanun. They alternate some outstanding solos, prodding one another to some very nice levels. Turkish music has a fair amount of exposure on the market, and
Turkmenler himself has a few albums to his name. This albums sits well as roughly the same level as the average album one might pick up randomly. Some nice musical treats, and some standard fare together. ~ Adam Greenberg