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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Organic syntax, December 11, 2005
Having never heard any Night Ark albums before, I didn't really know what to expect from Treasures, which as I later found out, is just a compilation of this instrumental quartet's mid-80's albums Picture (1986) and Moments (1988), both long out of print. Treasures begins with the song "Picture", which immediately recalls this Turkish song titled "Agladikca" sung by several singers here. It is characterized by awesome percussion work, fantastic oud and cumbus sounds, and wordless female vocals angelically harmonising with the instrumentation. Driven by American-Armenian Ara Dinkjian, noted for his exploratory oud playing and captivating song arrangements, Night Ark also features members who previously collaborated with amazing jazz and fusion artists such as Al DiMeola and Pat Metheny.
Often considered an ethnic jazz quartet, the band has knack for writing Middle Eastern-influenced world music exuding jarring melodies that may seem a bit hard to internalise for the untrained ear. Fans of Turkish, Armenian, and Greek music performed within a painstakingly composed jazz blueprint are going to enjoy the songs on Treasures a lot. Though far from rock and metal, all songs are underpinned by these genres' trademark elements. From minor key ambiant pieces encompassing weird male vocals to more jazz piano-inflected Middle Eastern numbers, the songs feature a good dose of cumbus, oud and zither sounds. That said, the track "Adoloscence" also encapusaltes a meaty guitar delivering eerie jazz notes over a fluid piano melody accompanied by distant male vocals. "Of Song & Silence" breaks the 10-minute mark with its almost New Age-like flow, yet at the same time, it continues to experiment with avant garde elements including a fretless bass sound blended with harmony vocals. Much like this mammoth track, "Worm" continues the musical experimentation, utilising the saz (a straight-necked string instrument), subtle synth washes, and even some electronic sounds. Cymbals occasionally crash and splash in the background whilst a simplistic jazz motif is carried on amidst heavy bass arpeggios. The song is chaotic and dark yet still wonderfully easy to enjoy.
If the pieces on Treasures are an indication as to what Night Ark is about, I'll have to track down all of their albums and hear them in their entirety. I've never been too big of a fan of collections or best of releases, but the flow from one track to another on Treasures is so seamless that I'd have never known unless I'd browsed the new for information. Recommended to fans of world music, fusion, and ethnic jazz.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Stars is easy to give - hard to reach, October 13, 2000
I have to agree with Skarabati from Istanbul, this CD has to be scalled as: music 5 stars - collection 4 stars. But whatever, here is one thing we must not forget. This CD brings real music treasures to everyone who does not care where the music comes from. I would not agree with a words from our firend "a music fan from Haifa Israel". This is not new age music. We can agree with a fact that it is as he says "Very unusual music with an arabic flavors". But if you consider a fact that term "Etno jazz" exsists you will easy unterstand Night ark as an very clear contemporary fusion of etno music (that includes armenian and oriental roots) and jazz feeling in very wide sense. Their music is full, rich, emotional and openhearted. I would recomend it to everyone who is ahead of framing music into clichees.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
music 5 stars - collection 4 stars, September 18, 2000
Dear music fan from Haifa, Israel! I believe you'll need to decrease your rating to 3 stars simply because Treasures is a collection of pieces from Picture (1986, Novus) AND Moments (1988, Novus) :D These two early albums by Night Ark have long been unavailable (even in second-hand stores) - the release of this collection is more than timely for new listeners. However, it's a pity that the CD does not include Night Ark's rendition of standards You've Got A Friend and Over the Rainbow, the full version of Trilogy and the beautiful piece by Donelian, Nocturne.
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