Cairo Jazz Station is an unusual quartet composed of a saz (a Turkish lute), an Egyptian darbouka, an accordion and a double bass. It is also the meeting of improvised jazz and the traditional and art music of Turkey, Egypt, Portugal, and Italy. It is above all a Mediterranean fusion that is both sophisticated and instinctive.
Abdallah Abozekry (saz), Ismail Altunbas (darbouka), João Barradas (accordion) and Loris Leo Lari (double bass) met at the Aix-en-Provence Festival Academy. Proof, if were needed, of the importance of this type of meeting space for exchanging artistic visions.
The result is as good as the combined curriculum of the four musicians, all trained in the best schools of their respective instruments/styles: a journey into an authentic and refined inspiration, where music lovers will be delighted. From the solemnity of the introduction to Cathedral to the channeled energy of Orient Espresso, one appreciates the sense of proportion and sensitive musicality of the quartet members. One also enjoys the enriched dialogue between the combined sonorities of the ensemble and the harmonic spaces, both chromatic and modal, of the compositions. In addition to intertwining naturally, all these elements are balanced in a respectful way.
