I first heard Tamer Pinarbasi play the kanun on our video for Amnesty International "The Price of Silence." Andres Levin, the producer, had him record the first layer of "world music" onto the existing basic track from Aterciopelados. As soon as I heard the results, I was entranced. Tamer just laid down one good take after another, plus it was all tasty stuff.  Later, when I was taping my first blog installment I caught Tamer playing again, with the New York Gypsy Allstars.  This time I was struck by his technique and velocity. He played some great solos, and even his backup (which I sometimes think is as much the measure of a musician as the solos) was great. So I contacted him and last week he gave me a quick interview and performance at our office before running off to a gig in Brooklyn.

I must say I got a bit hypnotized just looking at the kanun and at Tamer's hands...hope you do too!