The Secret Trio is an instrumental group comprising clarinettist Ismail Lumanovski, kanun player Tamer Pinarbasi and oud player Ara Dinkjian. The group was formed by the New York-based musicians in 2010 with all three musicians contributing the music traditions of their respective home countries to the trio.
Ara Dinkjian is from Armenia, Ismail Lumanovski from Macedonia and Tamer Pinarbasi from Turkey. All three are masters of their instruments and are involved in a number of music projects. The idea behind playing together as The Secret Trio was to make music that would satisfy their own creative and emotional needs. In 2010 they began meeting up at Ara Dinkjian’s house where they developed a group philosophy, fine-tuning the band’s sound and making recordings. Since the energy of live music is an essential part of the ensemble’s philosophy, the recordings were made without the use of overdubbing so that the depth of their improvisations and the spontaneity in their playing together could be captured even better.
The result is a new type of chamber music, uniting elements of sound, texture and rhythm with new and interesting ways of playing their instruments. Not tied to just one tradition, the trio fuses the microtonal modes and improvisation of the Middle East and the rhythms and melodies of the Balkans with elements of jazz, rock, classical and world music.
So far, The Secret Trio have brought out two albums: “Soundscapes” released on the Traditional Crossroads label in 2012, and “Three of Us” issued on the KALAN label in 2015.
Ara Dinkjian is from Armenia, Ismail Lumanovski from Macedonia and Tamer Pinarbasi from Turkey. All three are masters of their instruments and are involved in a number of music projects. The idea behind playing together as The Secret Trio was to make music that would satisfy their own creative and emotional needs. In 2010 they began meeting up at Ara Dinkjian’s house where they developed a group philosophy, fine-tuning the band’s sound and making recordings. Since the energy of live music is an essential part of the ensemble’s philosophy, the recordings were made without the use of overdubbing so that the depth of their improvisations and the spontaneity in their playing together could be captured even better.
The result is a new type of chamber music, uniting elements of sound, texture and rhythm with new and interesting ways of playing their instruments. Not tied to just one tradition, the trio fuses the microtonal modes and improvisation of the Middle East and the rhythms and melodies of the Balkans with elements of jazz, rock, classical and world music.
So far, The Secret Trio have brought out two albums: “Soundscapes” released on the Traditional Crossroads label in 2012, and “Three of Us” issued on the KALAN label in 2015.
Members:
Ara Dinkjian - Oud
Ismail Lumanovski - Klarinette
Tamer Pinarbasi - Kanun
Ismail Lumanovski - Klarinette
Tamer Pinarbasi - Kanun
Text: Robert Lippuner / Global Music Network
Translation: Jamie Davies
References:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Musician-Band/The-Secret-Trio-559567447426489/
https://www.aradinkjian.com/news.html
https://worldmusiccentral.org/tag/the-secret-trio/
https://www.ismaillumanovski.com/about
