Say It With Silence

Fazil Say first came to international attention as a pianist, but he used that career as a springboard for launching his own compositions, and he has become widely recognized in both fields. This release from Naïve includes a fascinating assortment of his works that draw on his background in the Western classical tradition, his Turkish heritage, and his interest in jazz. His 2008 Violin Concerto, subtitled "1001 Nights in the Harem," skillfully brings the harmonic language, modal melodies, and textures of traditional Turkish music to the format of the concerto.

Chet Atkins' albums of easygoing easy listening guitar playing had become a standard feature of the RCA Victor release schedule by the mid-'60s, and this two-fer CD reissue combines two typical efforts, Atkins' 22nd 12" LP, My Favorite Guitars (1965), and his 26th, It's a Guitar World (1967). The two albums were united – nominally – by their international themes…

Before talking to Fazil Say about these performances, I’m not sure that I would have used the word “operatic” to describe them—but from the beginning, I was struck by their conversational quality, by the superbly characterized playing of the solo winds and by the exceptional chamber-music rapport of pianist and orchestra as they toss material back and forth. And while I might not have thought of the word “smiling,” I certainly noticed the high level of wit, both in the playing itself and in the slightly anachronistic cadenza that Say offers for K 467.

John Hiatt's talents as a singer and songwriter have never been a matter of question, but for the longest time neither Hiatt nor his various record labels seemed to know what to do with him. Epic Records thought he was some sort of a folky, while MCA figured, since his songs were often cranky and angular, he could be sold as a skinny-tie new wave guy…

Mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa and pianist Fazıl Say share some tantalising, captivating and sensuous Secrets in this album of songs, centred on Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Bilitis, Ravel’s Shéhérazade and Fazıl Say’s own Gezi Park 3 – which he and Crebassa premiered in 2014. Describing the recording sessions, Marianne Crebassa says: “Sometimes we worked in a kind of trance … there were some moments when nothing seemed to exist around us …”