Mehmet Polat, a renowned ud player and composer, has announced the release of his latest album, Embodied Poetry, on June 23, 2023. As a preview, Polat has released the first single, ‘Introspection.’
The album features a brand-new band composed of pianist Mike Roelofs (Netherlands), drummer Martin Hafizi (Bulgaria), and bassist Daniel van Huffelen (Netherlands). Polat carefully selected these musicians, who are highly decorated in both jazz and world music, to showcase their musicianship and timbres in 12 original compositions. He also invited guests Gijs Levelt on trumpet, and Vardan Hovanissian and Sukru Kirtis on duduk and ney flute to complete his lineup.
According to Polat, this album was inspired by life’s twists, turns, and ever-changing rhythms, and it led him down an illuminated path of fully being where he is, as a composer and a human being. He explored time signatures such as 5/4, 7/4, and 9/8, which are common in Eastern music but not necessarily in Western music. He composed in favor of melodies and storylines that marry the two worlds in a dazzling album full of contemporary Middle Eastern jazz.
Polat’s new quartet combines jazz with rich musical traditions from his previous crossover projects. Through twelve crossover pieces, the group expands beyond merely a sum of their parts. The album is full of contemporary Middle Eastern jazz and showcases the work of a gifted composer and bandleader. He allows his band members to shine alongside him, raising their own musical voices in perfect harmony with the ud player’s signature contemplative, but ever rhythmical approach.
Embodied Poetry features an impressive range of styles, from the title track’s Indian raga yaman inspiration to “For Growth’s” Spanish and Persian influences, and from the four compass points examined in “Four Phases” to Polat’s dedication to his daughter Diotima. Polat’s new compositions can be likened to Arabic poetry, and these melodies are at their best when shared in public, from cafés to festivals, wherever audiences are receptive to these transporting sounds and the stories they represent.
All compositions on the album are by Mehmet Polat, and the band is composed of Mehmet Polat on ud, Mike Roelofs on piano, Martin Hafizi on drums, and Daniel van Huffelen on double bass. The guests include Gijs Levelt on trumpet, Vardan Hovanissian on duduk, and Şükrü Kirtiş on ney.
Author: World Music Central News Room
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