Compiled and prepared by MALIK MERCHANT

The website Worldmusiccentral reports that the Aga Khan Master Musicians (AKMM) formed in 2013 by the Aga Khan Music Programme is dominating the world music charts in Europe through their debut album Nowruz. The website goes on to list the top 20 selections for the month of February.

The producer of the album, Smithsonian Folk Ways Recording, says that “In Nowruz, the Aga Khan Master Musicians draw on music from Central Asia, China, the Middle East, and North Africa to create a strikingly original body of work where living musical traditions meet and meld. Acclaimed virtuosos on their respective instruments, the six members of AKMM deftly blend pipa, qanun, dutar, viola d’amore, saxophone, and a panoply of percussion into a soulful new musical language that comes alive in these eloquent performances.”

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PURCHASE (DOWNLOAD) THE NOWRUZ ALBUM PIECES AT US$0.99 EACH

Aside from the album’s namesake piece, Nowruz, the album consists of 11 other pieces such as Tashkent, Madad, Autum Flowers and Leaves, Ili and Jul Dance. Readers may listen to sample recordings on the Smithsonian Folk Ways website, and download each complete piece at US$0.99.

Date posted: February 2, 2024.

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