|
Traditional Crossroads
|
|
Traditional Crossroads is a record label founded by Harold Hagopian. Hagopian started as a classic record producer for RCA Victor and he carried over his passion for Middle Eastern music from RCA to his own record company. He studied production and instrumental technique at the Julliard School. Traditional Crossroads has cleaned up recordings from as early as 1912 using computer technology called the CEDAR system. CEDAR uses audio restoration processors to preserve early recordings; it digitally restores them without extraneous noises that are common among old records due to use. Rolling Stone magazine praised Hagopian’s use of the CEDAR system when they said it provided "a sound clarity that makes it seem as if they had arrived, magically, out of a time machine." Hagopian has traveled the world in search of Middle Eastern and other world music to archive and re-master for consumers in America. For example, he visited Istanbul to interview surviving women cabaret singers from the 1920s. With this information he was able to produce the Women of Istanbul CD that includes 40 pages of rare photos and information that comes straight from the source in Turkey. With Traditional Crossroads, he has taken great pleasure in sharing his archived Middle Eastern sounds, images, and lyric notes (with English translations) with the Western world. List of Artists and Composers Bigali Ahmet Salif Ali Hossein Alizadeh Paul Aljian Madlen Arardian Kanuni Artaki Pablo Aslan Safiye Ayla Udi Yorgo Bacanos Garbis Bakirgian Kálmán Balogh Yiorgos Batis Péter Bede Beata Begeniova Sortiria Bellou Lauren Brody Kemani Cemal Tamburi Cemil Bay Adrienne Cooper Dan Sullivan's Shamrock Band Ara Dinkjian Necati Dinletir Nick Doneff Armen Donelian Marko Dreher Packie Dolan Tatyos Efendi Bergüzar Yasar Emine Rosa Eskenazi Ali Fatemi Alexander Fedoriouk Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band Juan Carlos Formell Juan Formell Kanuni Garbis Adam Good Steve Greenman Mihály György Richard Hagopian Hamavayan Ensemble Vasyl Heker Udi Hrant Bigali Ibrahim Kayhan Kalhor Ardavan Kamkar [http://en. .org/wiki/Mustafa_Kand%C4%B1ral%C4%B1 Mustafa Kandıralı] Göksel Kartal Lee Knight Morikeba Kouyate Ferenc Kovács "Kudsi Erguner Ensemble" Julian Kytasty Frankie Látó Marilyn Lerner "Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Boys" Frank London Walt Mahovlich James Makubuya Wu Man Mehmed VI Marko Melkon Jose A. Mendez Zalmen Mlotek Paul Morrissett Murad IV Neshko Neshev Shahla Nikfal Neil Nolan Csaba Novák Kemani Nubar Ivo Papasov Alhaji Papa Susso John Pappas Nicki Parrott Stratos Payioumdzis Catalin Petrescu Andrei Pidkivka Narciso Cesar Portillo de la Luz Kostas Roukounas Joel Rubin Bahram Sadeghian Ed Schuller Rob Schwimmer Nisham Sedefjian [http://en. .org/wiki/M%C3%BCnir_Nurettin_Sel%C3%A7uk Münir Nurettin Selçuk] Ismail Sencal Hüsnü Senlendirici Kartik Seshadri Selim Sesler Shamira Shahinian Mohammad Reza Shajarian John Sheridan Lorin Sklamberg Rabbi Eli Silberstein Alicia Svigals [http://en. .org/wiki/La%C3%A7o_Tayfa Laço Tayfa] Omar Faruk Tekbilek "Theodosii Spassov Trio" Gheorghe Trambitas Vassilis Tsitsanis Trio Kavkasia (Alan Gasser, Stuart Gelzer, and Carl Linich) Sükrü Tunar [http://en. .org/wiki/Arto_Tun%C3%A7boyaciyan Arto Tunçboyaciyan] Özel Türkbas Markos Vamvakaris Komitas Vardapet “Sugar Mary” Vartanian David Wall Yuri Yunakov Albums Traditional Crossroads focuses on music from the Middle East and many other non-Western regions. The record label has re-mastered and provided both classically appreciated and current pop music in an effort to holistically capture the essence of a culture. The label’s albums each come with their own history in terms of regional culture and individual performers. Afghanistan Afghanistan - Untouched Traditional Crossroad’s 2-disc set of Afghani music covers a wide variety of styles. Ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin recorded songs all around Afghanistan in 1968. When Traditional Crossroads remade the CD, they made an effort to relate the pre-war music to the region’s new sociopolitical circumstance. Traditional Crossroads teamed up with School for Hope, an organization that builds schools for women. It also supports the International Rescue Committee - one dollar of every CD goes directly to the organization. The IRC has been aiding refugees in Afghanistan since the 1980s, and it continues to improve the country’s infrastructure. Traditional Crossroads split the songs into two CDs. The first covers music from northern Afghanistan, mainly by Tajiks and Uzbeks. When the songs were first recorded, many main roads had not yet been built. Therefore, the music in this region was much more distinct than it would become throughout the rest of the century. The second CD covers southern Afghanistan, with influence from Kabul, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. This region's music also has more Pakistani and Indian sound. Africa - The Gambia and Senegal Senegal - Morikeba Kouyate Morikeba Kouyate is from Bounkiling, Senegal, and comes from a family of [http://en. .org/wiki/Kora_(instrument) kora] players. Morikeba quickly became famous in Senegal and later much of West Africa. He hosted a radio show based in Dakar, appeared on television, and performed for royalty. In 1991 he moved to Chicago and has since become known throughout the United States. He received a 2002 Illinois Arts Council grant and was a 2003-2005 Illinois Arts Council Artstour artist. He was also given a City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs Community Arts Assistance Program (CAAP) grant in 2003. He has played and taught around US at universities like Harvard, DePaul and Northwestern. Morikeba Kouyate has recorded two CDs. The first, “Music of Senegal”, was through Traditional Crossroads, and the second was called “M’Fake,” or “our father’s work.” Both albums were recorded in the US and included other West African musicians.Indian sound. Papa Susso - Sotuma-Sere Papa Susso plays the kora and is part of a musical family in The Gambia. His village, Sotuma-Sere, has a high concentration of musicians that serve the local government. Papa Susso belongs to the Madinka, which is part of a larger regional group that is found in The Gambia, Senegal, and Mali. This regional music and Papa’s Susso’s songs in particular focus on praise and history.Indian sound. Armenian Artists Ara Dinkjian and Night Ark - Treasures Night Ark, an Armenian band formed in 1985, is known for blending pop and traditional styles. Ara Dinkjian, famous musician and musical thinker, composed almost all the tracks on Treasures.Indian sound. Armenians on 8th Avenue New York’s 8th Avenue scene in the early 1900s was a hot-spot for exotic Middle Eastern music, featured in the nightclubs. The neighborhood went from an “ethnic hangout spot” to a trendy place for celebrities and other high-class New Yorkers to visit. The 8th Avenue scene mostly hosted Greek, Turkish, and Bulgarian musicians. The most prominently featured instruments were the violin, oud, and [http://en. .org/wiki/Kanun_(instrument) kanun], among many others including the clarinet, drums, and tambourine. Performers sang of erotic passion and the lyrics sounded like Middle Eastern poetry. The original 78 rpm records coming from the 8th Avenue performers were released around the mid-1940s to early 1950s. Hagopian managed to digitally re-master many recordings of the 8th Avenue legends including oud master Marko Melkon, kanun expert Kanuni Garbis, Greek clarinetist John Pappas, Jewish violinist Nisham Sedefjian, “Sugar Mary” Vartanian, Madlen Arardian, Nick Doneff, and Garbis Bakirgian. The highly praised 22-track album Armenians on 8th Avenue released on September 17, 1996. The CD comes packaged with a 28 page booklet that includes rare photographs of 8th Avenue performers, biographical profiles, and lyric transcriptions are given in Turkish with an English translation running alongside them. One reviewer said that this CD “is a testament to music's most honorable capability: that of bringing peoples together.” More on Armenians on 8th Avenue: The Eight Avenue scene was home to chic, primarily Greek-owned, Middle Eastern nightclubs (with names like Ali Baba), which collaborated with each other and with other recent immigrants to the U.S., including Arab, Greek, Eastern European, and Jewish musicians. At the time, the area was very reminiscent of life in the Middle East. An overview of these “Eighth Avenue” recordings will reveal a sound reflective of the performer’s original origins in the Middle East. Interestingly enough, looking for signs of "Armenian-ness" in these recordings at first seems to be futile. Although these tracks are stylistically Turkish, with frequent use of taksim and gazal, there is a sense of locality that isn’t truly represented. That locality, for these musicians, is their former home in Ottoman Turkey—not modern-day Turkey, not Armenia, but the multi-ethnic, hybrid place that, by 1923 (when the Republic of Turkey formed), ceased to exist. Evidence of this lost "home" is evident in the vocal improvisations that take place in the middle of a number of the songs. From the musical style — the harmonic progressions, the melodic structure, the improvisational procedures — to the instruments to the language to the places remembered in the lyrics, the recordings point, at first glance, towards a musical style that is classified as Turkish. In addition, of all the instruments featured on the recordings, none are considered to be traditionally Armenian. The sampling of songs released by the Traditional Crossroads recording label are always classified under the "Turkish" label and, when it was released, received little to no attention from Armenian newspapers, journals, or magazines. Cuba Cuarteto Tiempo - Cigar Music - Tobacco Songs of Old Havana' This album is a compilation of music from Cuba's smoker culture. The musicians of Tiempo re-work complex harmonies into classic songs. The album also features Juan Carlos Formell, son of the Juan Formell, who founded the band Los Van Van. Songwriters Jose A. Mendez and Narciso Cesar Portillo de la Luz also contributed to the CD. Eastern Europe Alexander Fedoriouk - The Art of the Cimbalom On this CD, Alexander Fedoriouk, cimbalom player, performs dance and classic songs from Romania, Hungary and the Ukraine. He plays with Eastern European musicians, who play instruments like the clarinet, accordion, and saxophone. Georgia Drinking Horns and Gramophones - The First Recordings in the Georgian Republic, 1902-1914 This CD features music from Georgia before the Russian Revolution. The region’s polyphonic vocal music, usually associated with early modern Western melody, dates back to the 4th century. This style was found all throughout Georgian culture in the 1800s and early 1900s, from field songs to church music to melodies for celebrations. Greece The Road To Rembetika - Music of a Greek Sub-culture - Book & CD Music of a Greek Sub-culture, songs of Love, Sorrow and Hashish by Gail Holst Gail Holst wrote this book about musical style called rembetiko. Rembetiko songs are about sadness, love, and suffering, and were sung in poor urban areas in modern-day Turkey and Greece in the late 19th century. Rembetiko as a type of music and social movement has been compared with Blues in the US. Road to Rembetica is the first book in English to survey the subculture of men who smoked hashish and danced zebebekiko. The book includes the lyrics to over 80 classic songs, and 40 photos of important figures. The CD features several Rembetiko stars, including Sortiria Bellou, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Kostas Roukounas, Rosa Eskenazi, Markos Vamvakaris, Stratos Payioumdzis, and Yiorgos Batis. Gypsy/Hungary Kálmán Balogh - Gypsy Cimbalom Band - Live in Germany Kálmán Balogh, cimbalom player, performs traditional songs with classical, jazz and folk musicians. Together, these musicians modern versions of modern dance music which Balogh calls Gypsy Jazz. India India World Library of Folk and Primitive Music Originally recorded in the 1950s by musicologist and historian Alain Danielou, this CD showcases the varied tradition of Indian music. The album includes sacred temple songs, classical improvisations, tribal vocal melodies, and popular art music. Kartik Seshadri - Illuminations Kartik Seshadri is a world-renowned sitar player. He has worked closely under famous musician and composer Pandit Ravi Shankar. Seshadri has performed in major concert halls throughout the world, including the Lincoln Center and the Vancouver Jazz Festival. He performs at several festivals in India such as the Sangeeth Natak Academy, Sangeet Research Academy, and the Madras Music Academy. Seshadri is known for his expressiveness and detailed rhythmic patterns. Iran Ardavan Kamkar - Over the Wind This album consists of music from post-revolutionary musicians in Persian. It features Kayhan Kalhor and Ardavan Kamkar. Kalhor plays the kamancheh, a string instrument. He has toured in Europe and North America. Kamkar is a Kurdish santur player who is a top classical Persian ensemble musician in Tehran. He also tours around the world with his family, the renowned traditional Kurdish music group The Kamkars. Irish Ballinasloe Fair - Early Recordings of Irish Music in America 1920 - 1930 This album covers Irish music from a wide range of backgrounds, geographical locations, and styles. Both American and Irish-born artists are featured, with historical information provided by scholar Mick Moloney. Artists include , John Sheridan, and Packie Dolan. Unlike many other albums re-mastered by Traditional Crossroads, these recordings were not taken from records. Instead, they were modified from never-before-played metal masters of 78 records. Turkey Alla-Turca featuring Özel Türkbas Recorded in Istanbul in the 1960s, Alla-Turca is one of the most influential bellydance albums of the era. The CD features several famous Turkish and Turkish-Gypsy musicians, including Ozel Turkbas, Yilmaz Sanliel, and Tarik Bulut. The songs feature violin, clarinet, [http://en. .org/wiki/Kanun_(instrument) kanun], guitar, and various percussion instruments. Göksel Kartal - The Art of Taksim Göksel Kartal has toured throughout the Middle East, Europe and the United States exposing audiences to the kanun. He has been recognized throughout the world as a Turkish virtuoso of the kanun, incorporating elements from Spanish Flamenco guitar technique to Western Classical style. His improvisation, or taksim, is featured on this CD. Gypsy Fire Richard Hagopian, Yuri Yunakov and Omar Faruk Tekbilek Gypsy Fire features older belly-dance hits performed by more modern Turkish, Armenian, and Gypsy musicians. This CD includes Richard Hagopian, who received the National Heritage Fellowship, America’s highest honor awarded in the traditional folk arts. Also included are Yuri Yunakov, a Turkish saxophone player from Bulgaria, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, [http://en. .org/wiki/Arto_Tun%C3%A7boyac%C4%B1yan Arto Tunçboyaciyan], and Ara Dinkjian. Women of Istanbul This album is a compilation of vocal performances from female singers in Istanbul from the 1920s to the 1940s, such as Rosa Eskanazi and Safiye Ayla. Included in the Traditional Crossroads remastered CD are English translations of the lyrics and photos of Istanbul musical stars. 
|
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
Main Menu
| Home |
| Articles |
| Search |
| Submit Article |
| Contact Us |
| Donate to Wikibin |
