Sadaqa

It is barely a thousand kilometers from the foothills of the southern Caucasus to the borders of what is historically called  or Mesopotamia. Today, this large region between Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Syria and northern Iraq is culturally and politically fragmented. But the mutual cultural influences remain immense. What better medium to make them audible, tangible and comprehensible than music? This is precisely what SWR Jazz Prize winner Manfred Bründl, bassist and professor at the Weimar Music Academy, is concerned with in his new project with the Arabic title "Sadaqa" (friendship), with which he spans an arc from the traditional sounds and songs of the southern Caucasus to the musical traditions of Mesopotamia.
The artists represent the many facets of the project, which has been relaunched for the Kunstfest Weimar 2021 and the soundscapes: Ibrahim Keivo has Armenian roots and comes from a Yazidi Kurdish village in northeastern Syria; he sings in various Arabic dialects, as well as in Kurdish, Aramaic and Armenian, and is also a gifted multi-instrumentalist. Also from Syria is the oud virtuoso Mohannad Nasser, who has won many international awards. Bodek Janke, on the other hand, is one of the most sought-after percussionists and drummers on the jazz and world scene and has won prizes at the International Europe Jazz Contest, among others.

Cooperation of Theater an der Ruhr with NRW KULTURsekretariat