Udi Hrant Kenkulian

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Total Tracks: 14   Total Length: 60:31

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Chris Nickson

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11
Udi Hrant Kenkulian, Udi Hrant Kenkulian
2000 | Label: Traditional Crossroads / IODA

If one instrument encapsulates the sound of the Middle East, it's the lute-like oud. A master (Udi) of both Ottoman music and the taqsim, this blind Armenian oudist (who lived in Istanbul) is brought back to life here, shining alone on tracks like "Mahur Sez Samai," and showing his subtle, meditative improvisation skills on "Huzzam Taksim." This vintage 1950 recording beautifully illustrates his emotive, often innovative playing, and his respect for the music of the past.

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They Say All Music Guide

Though he was not recorded commercially after the 1920s, Kerkulian was one of the legends of the ud, both as virtuoso and innovator (the notes compare him to Segovia and Horowitz). In 1950 he visited the U.S. and this private recording was made then (by an udist-audiophile who did a fine job technically). – John Storm Roberts