11 Hours – Kyrgyzstan Sessions (self-released, 2025)
Jaw harp collective 11 Hours gathers virtuoso players from Russia, the United States, Kyrgyzstan, and Sakha (Yakutia) for a rare cross-continental encounter recorded on Kyrgyz soil. Kyrgyzstan Session features jaw harps in dialogue and solo, with only occasional bird calls and light percussion.
The album places the jaw harp, in all its regional variants, squarely at center stage. The styles are surprisingly diverse, from rhythmic sounds to droning lines. The players draw deeply from world music traditions and often resembles a circle of storytellers trading myths around a fire.
The most striking moments to me are when the Asian musicians fuse jaw harp with throat singing. Those passages turn the ensemble into a living overtone orchestra. The technical control is formidable, reminding you how easily this instrument can become a modern vehicle for experimentation.
The project began as an online duo between Russian jaw harp player Irina Bogatyryova and American multi-instrumentalist Mark Growden. Their name, 11 Hours, reflects the time difference between their home countries. For roughly five years, the pair met almost weekly online, pausing only for Bogatyryova’s pregnancy, the outbreak of international conflicts, and a California wildfire near Growden’s home.
Original plans to record in Russia and the United States shifted after geopolitical changes. The team chose Kyrgyzstan instead, a country with a strong jaw harp tradition, and expanded the lineup to include Kyrgyz musician Kutman Sultanbekov and Sakha (Yakutian) player Erkin Khomusoul. The quartet rehearsed and recorded in Kyrgyzstan, shared evening meals while Sultanbekov observed Ramadan, and performed a live concert, with audience singalongs underscoring the local popularity of the instrument. The visit also included time with Sultanbekov’s students, highlighting a new generation of jaw harp players.
Kyrgyzstan Sessions presents four internationally active musicians in a program of traditional pieces, original works, and reimagined folk melodies. The album blends Kyrgyz, Russian, Sakha, and American approaches while focusing on the melodic possibilities of the jaw harp, vargan, temir komuz, khomus, and related instruments.
Track Highlights
“August” – Original composition by Irina Bogatyryova, created in response to the late-summer period of loss, harvest, and the Perseid meteor showers.
Credits: Composed by Irina Bogatyryova. Arranged by Bogatyryova, Mark Growden, Erkin Khomusoul, and Kutman Sultanbekov.
Performers: Bogatyryova – jaw harp (vargan); Growden – jaw harp, dove calls; Sultanbekov – jaw harp (temir komuz), jaw harp cases; Khomusoul – jaw harp (khomus).
“For Vladimir” – Tribute to Russian jaw harp virtuoso Vladimir Markov, Bogatyryova’s longtime duet partner and a key influence on Growden’s melodic jaw harp style.
Credits: Composed by Mark Growden. Arranged by Bogatyryova, Growden, Khomusoul, and Sultanbekov.
Performers: Bogatyryova – jaw harp (vargan); Growden – jaw harp; Sultanbekov – jaw harp (temir komuz); Khomusoul – jaw harp (khomus).
“September” – Duo for jaw harp that draws on a lullaby from Bogatyryova’s family tradition.
Credits: Composed by Bogatyryova and Growden.
Performers: Bogatyryova – jaw harp (vargan); Growden – bass jaw harp.
“Ak Kalpak (White Kyrgyz Hat)” – Solo piece by Sultanbekov honoring the ak kalpak, celebrated annually on March 5 as a national symbol in Kyrgyzstan. The work reflects the association of the white felt hat with snow-covered peaks and Kyrgyz identity.
Credits: Composed and performed by Kutman Sultanbekov.
Performer: Sultanbekov – temir komuz (Kyrgyz jaw harp).
“Blue Ball” – Traditional Russian folk waltz about first love, love found, and separation.
Credits: Traditional Russian folk waltz.
Performer: Bogatyryova – vargan (Russian jaw harp).
“Kerbezim” – Adaptation of “Kerbezim” (“My graceful one”), a classic Kyrgyz lament by poet-singer Toktogul Satylganov (1864–1933), arranged for melodic jaw harp with a featured solo by Sultanbekov.
Credits: Arranged by Sultanbekov, Bogatyryova, Growden, and Khomusoul.
Performers: Sultanbekov – jaw harp (temir komuz); Bogatyryova – jaw harp (vargan); Growden – jaw harp; Khomusoul – jaw harp (khomus).
“January” – Composition by Growden, written while walking a country road in Sonoma County, California. The track draws on his background as a jazz saxophonist and follows a classic “head–solo–head” structure, exploring the jaw harp’s overtone-based melodic range in duet with Bogatyryova.
Credits: Composed by Growden. Performed by Growden and Bogatyryova.
Performers: Growden – jaw harp; Bogatyryova – vargan (Russian jaw harp).
“December” – Duo by Bogatyryova and Growden that evokes the sound of water drops during an unseasonably warm December day.
Credits: Composed and performed by Bogatyryova and Growden.
Performers: Bogatyryova – vargan (Russian jaw harp); Growden – jaw harp.
“Legend Of The Creation Of The Middle World” – Solo khomus piece rooted in Sakha (Yakutian) tradition.
Credits: Performed by Erkin Khomusoul.
Performer: Khomusoul – khomus (Sakha/Yakutian jaw harp).
“Sunrise On Mt. Abe”- Solo interpretation of a piece by jaw harp maker Shaun Jones, a longtime collaborator of Growden. The performance treats Jones’s melody as a theme for variation, played on a jaw harp crafted by Jones.
Credits: Composed by Shaun Jones. Performed by Mark Growden.
Performer: Growden – jaw harp.
“When I Find My Life / Life (For Jess Curtis)” – Medley that combines When I Find My Life by Marianne Faithfull with “Life,” a traditional Kyrgyz lament. The track is dedicated to choreographer Jess Curtis, an early collaborator of Growden.
Credits: When I Find My Life written by Marianne Evelyn Faithfull and Barry Reynolds. © WC Music Corp. o/b/o Warner Chappell Music Ltd and EMI Blackwood Music Inc. o/b/o EMI Music Publishing Ltd – used with permission. All rights reserved. “Life” is a traditional Kyrgyz lament. Arranged by Sultanbekov, Growden, and Bogatyryova.
Performers: Growden – voice, clariphone; Sultanbekov – voice, komuz; Bogatyryova – jaw harp (vargan).
“Krakowyak” – Russian folk dance tune with origins in Krakow, Poland, once associated with a playful exchange between a knight and his squire and later popular in European courts. Presented here as a solo vargan piece.
Credits: Traditional; arranged and performed by Irina Bogatyryova.
Performer: Bogatyryova – vargan (Russian jaw harp).
“Little Buck” – Solo composition by Growden written for his youngest son, balancing affection and absence.
Credits: Composed by Growden.
Performer: Growden – jaw harp.
“Friendship” – Piece created by Sultanbekov during rehearsals, named for the bond among the four collaborators.
Credits: Composed by Sultanbekov. Arranged by Sultanbekov, Bogatyryova, and Growden.
Performers: Sultanbekov – jaw harp (temir komuz); Bogatyryova – jaw harp (vargan); Growden – bass jaw harp.
Buy Kyrgyzstan Session.
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.