Smithsonian Folkways Recordings Releases 'Music Of Central Asia' Volumes 4-6

LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Smithsonian Folkways Recordings) - Smithsonian Folkways Recordings just released the latest installment, Vols. 4-6, of their prestigious 'Music of Central Asia' Series. The three discs are an eclectic mix that includes 'Bardic Divas: Women's Voices in Central Asia' (Vol. 4); 'Badakhshan Ensemble: Song and Dance from the Pamir Mountains' (Vol. 5); and 'Alim and Fargana Qasimov: Spiritual Music of Azerbaijan' (Vol. 6). Each album features a bonus DVD that offers an introduction to the series. 'Music of Central Asia' is a co-production of the Aga Khan Music Initiative. Artists from each release will embark on US tour this fall with stops in NYC and Los Angeles.

'Bardic Divas' comprises soloists and small ensembles whose repertoire encompasses the rich and diverse traditions of Central Asian bards. Such music is exemplified by the lively, humorous songs from traditional female entertainers (khalfas) in the Khorezm region of Uzbekistan. Other music on the album represents genres or idioms once overwhelmingly the province of men. Among them are Kazakh oral poetry, whose performers, called zhyrau, sing in a raspy, guttural vocal style that evokes the legendary and magical world of epic heroes, as well as Kazakh lyrical songs performed in the style of 19th-century Kazakh troubadours known as sal or seri.

The Badakhshan Ensemble comes from the mountainous region of Tajikistan and northeast Afghanistan. They have cultivated a vibrant tradition of devotional song, dance and contemplative instrumental music that corresponds to the distinct social roles that the ensemble fills in its own community-most typically, providing music for weddings. The Badakhshan Ensemble's various instrumental choices include the synthesizer, a spike fiddle, a large frame drum and a setar.

Alim Qasimov is Azerbaijan's most beloved traditional singer. In these deeply spiritual recordings of Azeri classical mugham and lyrical bardic songs, Alim is joined by his daughter Fargana and an ensemble performing on tar, kamancha, balaban, oud and drums

Spiritual Sounds of Central Asian Tour Dates
Oct 29 (Lecture) College Station, TX Department of Performance (Texas A&M University)
Oct 30 Houston, TX Wortham Center
Oct 31 (Lecture) Houston, TX Museum of Fine Arts
Nov 2 Los Angeles, CA Royce Hall (UCLA)
Nov 3 (Lecture) Clairmont, CA Little Bridges Hall of Music (Pomona College)
Nov 5 Santa Barbara, CA Campbell Hall (University Of California Santa Barbara)
Nov 6 (Lecture) Santa Barbara, CA University Of California Santa Barbara
Nov 8 (Lecture) Chicago, IL Northwestern University and Chicago Cultural Center
Nov 9 Chicago, IL Chicago Symphony Hall