S A D A Q A 

Ibrahim Keivo, vocals & bouzouk

Mohannad Nasser, Oud

Manfred Bründl, bass

Bodek Janke, percussion & drums

 

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It is barely 1000 kilometers from the foothills of the southern Caucasus to the borders of what is historically referred to as Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia. Today this large region between Armenia, Azerbaijan, North Syria and North Iraq is culturally and politically divided.

 

But the mutual cultural influences remain, historically speaking, immense and which medium would be better suited to make them audible, noticeable, and comprehensible than music? This is exactly what SWR jazz prize winner Manfred Bründl, bassist and professor at the Weimar University of Music, is about in his new project with the universal Arabic title Sadaqa, "Friendship", with which he draws a bow from the traditional sounds and songs of the southern Caucasus the musical traditions of Mesopotamia.

 

The artists reflect the cultural diversity of this project : Ibrahim Keivo has Armenian roots and comes from a Yezidi-Kurdish village in northeast Syria; he sings in various dialects in Arabic, Kurdish, Aramaic, Armenian and is at the same time a gifted multi-instrumentalist.

The multi-award-winning oud virtuoso Mohannad Nasser also comes from Syria. Bodek Janke, on the other hand, is one of the most sought-after percussionists and drummers in the jazz and world scene and has won prizes, including the International Europe Jazz Contest.