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From Amazon.com
Hrant Kenkulian, nicknamed "Udi" for the instrument he had mastered, is a legendary figure among players and listeners of Middle Eastern music. Born as the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, this Armenian musician was not only an acknowledged master of the instrument, but a man who took it to new places. His playing is compared (roughly) to the work of Robert Johnson, in that he took a known form and made it so personal as to create almost a new entity. These old recordings, remastered from the original discs, reveal a depth of passion that explains why he was also known as Hrant Emre ("Hrant of the soul"). They include original compositions, some rare moments of Hrant playing fiddle, and a number of improvisations called taksims. The detailed booklet gives an excellent history and musical notes. Volume 2 offers more of these recordings. --Louis Gibson
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1 review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Exceptional!!
30 April 2003
Format:Audio CD
Whether we're talking about Armenian (by way of Turkey) oud playing or anywhere else, Udi Hrant is one of THE GODS of the instrument. Along with his improvisational prowess, he was also an excellent singer and composer/writer. I have to admit that I worked backwards in finding him. It was my being blown away by various recordings by Richard and Harold Hagopian that lead me back in time to Hrant. Personally, I prefer Harold's violin playing over Hrant's, but Hrant's oud taksim's and oud-&-vocals stuff is untouchable! That is no knock on Richard Hagopian though, himself nothing short of brilliant.
I'm just a boring guy from Indiana and this is seriously high music, the likes of which is technically (musically speaking) beyond most of the worlds inhabitants, myself included. I'll be honest, I don't know all the ins and outs of taksim's rules and modes and regulations, but that doesn't matter. The bottomline is that these songs and improvisations blow my mind! I remember sitting on my bed listening to this disc in headphones the very first time I ever heard it. Udi Hrant does stuff during track #6 that is absolutely breathtaking. I sat there on my bed just feeling my heart-rate quicken as his level of intensity heightened. That, among many other things, was what hooked me for life. He has phenomenally perfect tone.
If I'm going to get nitpicky, I can only say that I wish each track had the date of recording next to it. The liner-notes are somewhat vague about the specifics but from what I've gathered, this stuff was all recorded from the 1930s through the '50s. I think. That lack of information isn't a huge deal to me though. I mean it's not like I am going to be at an auction somewhere bidding on his 78s. Besides, aside from this, volume 2, and the self-titled disc (all also on the Traditional Crossroads label) there is nowhere else to get this music, and that is really what it's about... The Music.
Get this and Volume 2 and you are well on your way to a stunning collection of music to immerse yourself in. I don't have the self-titled collection yet. To the best of my knowledge it is an amateur recording made by a student of Hrant's during some oud lessons. I've just always felt iffy as to whether or not that would be interesting. In the end, I am sure I will buy it, but I just haven't yet.
If you stumbled upon this disc, you should buy it.
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