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August 02, 2005
Nikos Dimitriadis, "Solo Oud"
I just got a recent CD by a Greek oud player named Nikos Dimitriadis. (For those who might be unfamiliar with the oud, it's a stringed instrument similar to the bouzouki or the lute. The oud is played primarily in Middle Eastern countries: Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, as well as Greece.) The instrument Dimitriadis plays has 11 strings: 10 of them are arranged in pairs, with the bottom one tuned alone.
Dimitriadis, who hails from Thessaloniki, plays seven selections on the CD, four labeled "Taqasim" and the rest, "Instrumental." The liner notes indicate that the former are "extemporisations," with the latter being compositions based on 4- or 5-note motives. All of the selections, however, present ample opportunity for improvisation and expressive playing. Each tends to be based around one particular harmony -- I'm not sure how to describe some of it, but there's a lot of Dorian mode in there, and a lot of altered scales with augmented seconds and diminished fifths all over the place.
If you like Spanish guitar or Middle Eastern folk music, you'll like "Solo Oud." It's very listenable, not at all difficult for the Western ear. Dimitriadis displays a very accomplished technique; his command of the instrument shows throughout the CD, in seemingly effortless flights of improvisation. His technique, though, is always subordinate to the music he's playing, and the selections are fairly long, ranging from 5:13 to 16:06 -- Dimitriadis takes plenty of time to expand on the ideas present in each piece. It's good stuff.
You can get the CD directly from Dimitriadis at http://www.oud.gr -- he takes PayPal, and he'll ship you a CD anywhere in the world for $15.00. His Web site also has a lot of interesting information on the oud and other stringed instruments.
"Solo Oud" is Nikos Dimitriadis's first CD. Let's hope there'll be more!
Posted by Urbie at August 2, 2005 09:51 PM