Album Notes

Multi-instrumentalist/improvisor Mustafa Stefan Dill releases a new world music project featuring his work on oud and sarod: Sama' Duo - Music From the Travel Bug.

A live CD culled from a series of performances at the Travel Bug bookstore in Santa Fe, the release is a limited-edition precursor to a more full-fledged studio project slated for later this year.

Teaming up with percussionist jefferson Voorhees on pakhawaj and tar, the Sama' Duo's acoustic outing of transcultural improvisation builds on Dill's approach of combining modern and traditional improvising techniques within various musical traditions.

Form that common core, the group forges a distinct sound: Middle Eastern maqams may develop as ragas, or viceversa; Arabic modes delivered with a Turkish melodic aesthetic float through on rhythms from India; a new raga may blossom with a gracefully assimilated touch of modern quarter-tone composition; and it may all be nestled within forms based on Persian ensemble or Indian classical work.

Their live performances are receiving high acclaim for their spontaneity and interplay, captured here in this live CD.

The group takes as its name a nuanced Arabic term that describes the spectrum of relationships between intense listening, sprituality, and music-making itself.

Mustafa Stefan Dill also has Six Peaces and Run For Heaven available on CD Baby and is a member of MJaneEnsemble. He maintains a web site at http://www.norumba.com.