2gether

An intriguing meeting of two Iraqi Jewish artists who have spent years in Israel and Turkey (in the case of Yinon Muallem) and Iraq and Sweden (in the case of Saman Alias) – and met in Sweden to record this album. Muallem plays oud, fretless guitar and percussion – there’s a fine oud solo on ‘The Swing’. Alias plays clarinet, bass clarinet and ney flute – with infectious clarinet in ‘Rast Gelsin’. The collaboration on 2gether sounds natural and easygoing but tends much of the time to light jazz, particularly when pianist Johan Ericsson is involved. The nicest moments are when the lute and clarinet give us some modal maqam moments. The musicians describe the album as a journey, although don’t give many clues to help us follow it. There are two tracks where Muallem adds vocals – one a trad Turkish song (‘Dun Gece’), the other an original composition in English (‘The Journey’). Neither are highlights. ‘Geryan’, the closing number, is a nice finish with filigree percussion.