Aynur

    KINAN AZMEH & CITYBAND – LIVE IN BERLIN
    (Dreyer Gaido)

    FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION:

    Alternative Jazz Album (Kinan Azmeh & CityBand – Live in Berlin)
    Jazz Performance (Wedding)
    Instrumental Composition (Dance)
    Global Music Performance (The Queen Commanded) 

    "Most of this music was composed and performed during the aftermath of the uprising (or revolution?) of 2011 – music that is inspired by anger, sadness, frustration, and above all, the need to hold on to one’s optimism and creative tools in the face of atrocities.
    It moves me profoundly to be sharing this album with the world as my Syrian people are able to sing again after their long and costly struggle against tyranny and dictatorship.
    This album is dedicated to all who believe that making music is also an act of freedom.“  Kinan Azmeh

     

    Press:

    “Live in Berlin pulses with life and hope” – All About Jazz

    "Here is music of both irresistible motoric invitation and heartening spiritual compassion. Bravo!" – Michael Tucker in Jazz Journal (UK)

    “There is a peace wrapped in Azmeh’s music that is palpable, and warm as a baby bunting. I want to hold these compositions close and feel their heartbeat.” – Making A Scene Magazine

    “As its conception implies, there’s a true sense of melancholy permeating much of the set, though this is contrasted by moments of playfulness. Not least on the blazing closer ‘Wedding’, which sees Azmeh and Sanna navigating frenetic unison lines in perfect sync – a riotous end to a dynamic and exciting set.” – Songlines

    “There is a sense of movement towards something better, the clarinet singing out in declaration of the right to be heard. It is magisterial and invigorating... profoundly moving album” – Mike O'Brian in Clarinet & Saxophone Magazine, GB

    "... coherence to the presentation that reveals the warmth, depth, and passion of this remarkable music." – stereophile.com

    ListenNow

    Kinan Quartett

    Hailed as “intensely soulful” and a “virtuoso” by The New York Times, Winner of Opus Klassik award in 2019 clarinetist and composer Kinan Azmeh has gained international recognition for what the "New Yorker" has called “Spellbinding!” for his distinctive voice across diverse musical genres.
    Originally from Damascus, Syria, Kinan Azmeh brings his music to all corners of the world as a soloist, composer and improviser. Notable appearances include the Opera Bastille, Paris; Tchaikovsky Grand Hall, Moscow; Carnegie Hall and the UN General Assembly, New York; the Royal Albert Hall, London; Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires; Philharmonie, Berlin; the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, Washington DC; the Mozarteum, Salzburg, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie; and in his native Syria at the opening concert of the Damascus Opera House.
    He has appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Seattle Symphony, the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, the Dusseldorf Symphony, the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, the Qatar Philharmonic and the Syrian Symphony Orchestra among others, and has shared the stage with such musical luminaries as Yo-Yo Ma, Daniel Barenboim, Marcel Khalifé, John McLaughlin, Francois Rabbath, Aynur and Jivan Gasparian.
    Kinan’s compositions include several works for solo, chamber, and orchestral music, as well as music for film, live illustration, and electronics. His resent works were commissioned by The New York Philharmonic, The Seattle Symphony, The Knights Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Elbphilharmonie, Apple Hill string quartet, Quatuor Voce, Brooklyn Rider, Cello Octet Amsterdam, Aizuri Quartet and Bob Wilson.
    An advocate for new music, several concertos were dedicated to him by composers such as Kareem Roustom, Dia Succari, Dinuk Wijeratne, Zaid Jabri, Saad Haddad and Guss Janssen, in addition to a large number of chamber music works. 
    In addition to his own Arab-Jazz Quartet CityBand and his Hewar trio, he has also been playing with the Silkroad Ensemble since 2012, whose 2017 Grammy Award-winning album “Sing Me Home” features Kinan as a clarinetist and composer.
    Kinan Azmeh is a graduate of New York’s Juilliard School as a student of Charles Neidich, and of both the Damascus High institute of Music where he studied with Shukry Sahwki, Nicolay Viovanof and Anatoly Moratof, and Damascus University’s School of Electrical Engineering. Kinan earned his doctorate degree in music from the City University of New York in 2013.
    His first opera “Songs for Days to Come” which is fully sung in Arabic, was premiered in Osnabruck, Germany in 2022 to a great acclaim.
    His double concerto "Drawing" (together with Layale Chaker) has been premiered by New York Philharmonic in October 2023.
    Kinan Azmeh has recently been appointed to the National Council for the Arts on a nomination by President Joe Biden.

    With this New York ensemble, the Kinan Azmeh CityBand he strives to reach a balance between classical music, jazz, and the music of his homeland, Syria. Azmeh’s expressive clarinet meets Kyle Sanna’s rustic guitar, soaring at times over the dynamic and volatile backdrop of John Hadfield’s percussion and Josh Myers’ double bass. Each band member has come from varied backgrounds to add their personal flair to this ensemble, resulting in a thoroughly exciting and rewarding listening experience.