Cyminology

PERSONNEL:

CYMIN SAMAWATIE, vocals
BENEDIKT JAHNEL, piano
RALF SCHWARZ, double bass
KETAN BHATTI, drums, percussion
MARTIN STEGNER, viola

Rainbow Studio, Oslo, March 1-3, 2014

TRACKS:

01. Aaftaab
02. Che Gune Ast
03. Baraaye Ranj
04. Gozaraan
05. Harire Buse
06. Talaash Makon
07. Dishab
08. Phoenix Part 1
09. Phoenix Part 2
10. Baraaye To

On their third album for ECM, German-Iranian singer Cymin Samawatie and her Berlin-based band Cyminology continue on their unique course, allowing the subtle melodies and rhythms of Persian poetry to influence their compositions and improvisation. The quality that JazzTimes has termed the “self-defining poetic logic” of their music is also informed by the players’ diverse cultural backgrounds and by experiences spanning a range of idioms. The core unit of Cymin, pianist Benedikt Jahnel, bassist Ralf Schwarz and drummer Ketan Bhatti is now joined, for the first time on record, by Martin Stegner, the violist who has been a frequent collaborator since 2011. The viola, the string instrument perhaps closest to the human voice, becomes a kind of second singer here, extending the sense of cultural dialogue in the music.