JAW by Kambar Kalendarov & Kutman Sultanbekov
In 2011, we presented the debut recording of Kutman Sultanbekov and Kambar Kalendarov - master musicians of Kyrgyzstan - in JAW, a recording of new and freshly arranged traditional music for the Kyrgyz jaw harp. Kutman and Kambar were hit stars of the 2008 Bang on a Can Summer Festival at MASS MoCA and returned to the US in the summer of 2009 for an appearance (and subsequent radio broadcast) at the Bang on a Can Marathon in New York. As composers as well as virtuosos of Kyrgyz music, this album focuses on bringing the jaw harp into the 21st century in a recording that combines the trance-like sound of the instrument with a surprisingly contemporary aesthetic. This is not your granddad's jaw harp music.
Featured tracks on JAW include Mezgil Jangyrygy, with a driving groove supporting a screaming overtone melody. Many tracks feature the infectious, monstrous bass jaw harps (essentially dubstep with your tongue), including Kukuk, Boz Uido and Kosh Kairyk, an all-out battle of these dueling giants. Jangylyk will bring to mind Celtic fiddling and Tengir Too is a trippy journey into Silk Road psychedelia.
The jaw harp is a tantalizingly elemental instrument - made of wood or of metal, it makes its sound by vibrating a tiny bar of metal, the sound resonating within the player's mouth. It is in the mouth of the player that the jaw harp becomes powerful and sophisticated; performers amplify the instrument's overtones by changing the shape, and therefore the resonance, of their mouths.
Tracklist
| 1. | Mezgil Jangyrygy (Echoes of Time) | 4:06 |
| 2. | Ala-Too Jazy (Spring in Ala-Too) | 3:34 |
| 3. | Kukuk (Cuckoo) | 1:48 |
| 4. | Tagyldyr Too (Beauty Mountain) | 2:10 |
| 5. | Kosh Kairyk (Double Variation) | 2:15 |
| 6. | Kyialdanuu (Reverie) | 2:12 |
| 7. | Jailoodo (Summer in the Mountains) | 1:29 |
| 8. | Alga (Forward) | 2:22 |
| 9. | Boz Uido (In the Jurt) | 2:04 |
| 10. | Obertondor (Overtones) | 4:34 |
| 11. | Jangyryk (Echo) | 2:55 |
| 12. | Selkinchek (Swing) | 2:43 |
| 13. | Tengir Too (God's Mountain) | 3:09 |
| 14. | Turumtai (The Red-Footed Falcon) | 1:53 |
| 15. | Jangylyk (Novelty) | 3:03 |
Credits
License
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Cantaloupe Music is the record label created by the three founders of New York's legendary Bang on a Can organization—composers Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe—with Bang on a Can managing director Kenny Savelson. Cantaloupe Music has made a massive impact in the contemporary music community, and has been recognized by critics and fans worldwide for its edgy and adventurous sounds.