The On the Edges series is planned to visit five regions inside and outside the European Union. The members of the TransEuropeExpress Ensemble and invited guest artists draw creative energy from the interplay and fusion of their musical languages to paint a colorful, richly layered picture of European jazz, while making palpable the clash of musical elements and cultures. The fourth episode of the series focuses on Turkey: the guest of Oriental Express is Burcu Karadağ, an internationally renowned master and ambassador of the ney flute.

The ney is a key instrument in Oriental and Turkish music – so much so that its scales are named after various types of ney flutes –, and even the spiritual and meditative practices of Sufism would be unimaginable without it. Between 2021 and 2024, Lüdemann spent multiple artist residencies in Turkey, and his encounter with the ney, which differs radically from the Western flute in both its playing technique and sound, provided him with points of connection to Turkish music while also prompting him to seek new compositional approaches – first as Karadağ’s duet partner, and later by involving her in the work of On the Edges. The pieces on the album are not directly based on traditional music, but rather Lüdemann’s personal impressions from Turkey, translated into material that allows the magic of the ney to unfold in all its splendor.

Artists

Hans Lüdemann (piano), Burcu Karadağ (flute), TransEuropeExpress Ensemble, Alexandra Grimal (instrumentalist, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone), Dejan Terzic (instrumentalist, drums), Ronny Graupe (instrumentalist, guitar), Yves Robert (instrumentalist, trombone), Régis Huby (instrumentalist, violin), Angelika Niescier (instrumentalist, alto saxophone, clarinet), Clara Däubler (instrumentalist, double bass)