, Alonisma project
Andrea Romani
flute, ney, voice, oud
short bio:
Self-taught musician (performer and composer), born in Italy, he plays the flute, and the ney (of Ottoman tradition) sings.
Through numerous trips and long stays different countries, he dedicates his musical research to the integration between jazz and modal music, in particular from the Mediterranean, the Balkans and Middle East. In 2013 he created the Alonisma collective in Paris, bringing together musicians, painters, directors, actors, dancers and academics from Europe, the Middle East and Latin America.
After years of research in Istanbul, Paris and Athens, he published in 2017 "Cekirdek, Alonisma Vtet", the first album he directed, published by the Turkish label Kalan Muzik. In 2019, the Greek bass player Apostolos Sideris invited him to collaborate and record his album "Summation" published by the label Fresh Sound.
Andrea Romani is the founder (2019) of Makam Odyssey: an association that, in collaboration with the Panthéon-Sorbonne University and the Maison des Culture du Monde (Vitré), will organize in September 2020 an Ottoman music masterclass held by the great musician Omer Erdogdular and his son Ahmet Erdogdular.
Apostolos Sideris | double bass
Apostolos Sideris was born in 1978 in Athens, Greece, where he had his first musical training, playing the classical flute. By the time he was 15 he had switched to the electric bass. It didn't take long for him to fall in love with the instrument, and he was soon playing with various rock bands around Athens. By the time he was 17, his focus was directed towards jazz, which led him to move to Boston in order to attend Berklee School of Music. During his time at Berklee, he picked up the upright bass, which since then has been his main instrument. Following his stint in Boston, Apostolos moved to New York and earned his Master's degree in Performance, while being instructed by bass virtuoso John Patitucci.
Since then he has been freelancing around the States as well as abroad. He has performed with a wide array of musicians ranging from jazz masters such as drummer Clarence Penn, guitarists Lionel Loueke and Rez Abbasi and pianist Leo Genovese, to world music sensations such as composer and oudist Ara Dinkjan, Greek ECM recording artist Savina Yannatou, Syrian vocal master Youssef Khasab and Lebanese composer Ziad Rahbani.
In addition to being a performer, he is a devoted composer, writing in many different styles, ranging from jazz to Middle Eastern and Latin influenced music. He currently resides in Istanbul and has been directing his creative energy mainly toward working with an Ethnic-Jazz group he co-founded, called MESEL, as well as preparing his own album. It will consist of his own compositions and improvisations, based on Middle Eastern themes refracted through his own jazz-influenced perspective.
Tamer Temel | tenor & soprano saxophone
Born in Istanbul and grew up in İzmir. He worked with Dave Allen (guitar), Masa Kamaguchi (bass) and Marc Miralta on his debut album Barcelona, released in 2010 by A.K. Music.
He has been participating in numerous festivals and performing at important venue as he continues to teach jazz courses at Bahçeşehir University, Istanbul. Tamer Temel Quintet released another studio album with A.K. Music label called "Bir Kedi Kara" he played this project in many festivals like İstanbul Jazz festivals, Ak bank Jazz Festival and many others. His latest album “Serbest Düşüş” released on November 2016 by A.K. Müsic. He still teaching jazz and improvising at Bahçeşehir University.
Estreilla Besson | piano
Born in 1994, E.B. was brought up in a world of poetry, philosophy and music. She is tough the piano from the age of 5 through the discipline of both classical and jazz structures.
From 2011 to 2013 she studies at the Didier Lockwood jazz school « CMDL ».
In 2015 she is rewarded at the CRR (Paris Regional Conservatory) as a classical piano musician, in the classes of Célimène Daudet, and of Christian Rivet in chamber music. Presently she is following the perfecting class by Rena Shereshevskaya at the Rueil Malmaison Conservatory - It is mostly the 20 th and 21st century repertoire that she explores throughout her interpretation work. She is also studying conducting at the St-Maur-Des-Fossés conservatory.
She is playing in a quintet for which she writes the music with the Mezzo Soprano Victoria Shereshevskaya, including different kinds of arts (dance, video...), is part of the contemporary orchestra ensemble of the Cité International ''Ensemble Écoute" directed by Fernando Palomeque and Alex Nante, and is also working in Istanbul in the Andrea Romani's (flûte/ney) Alonisma 5tet with Izzet Kizil (percussion), Tamer Temel (sax) et Apostolos Sideris (contrebasse).
Very much taken by balkan music, more specifically turkish, she likes to explore the specific rythmes and makams inside her own composition. (…)
In august 2015, her first contemporary piece was for cello solo and was interpreted by Eric-Maria Couturier (Ensemble Intercontemporain of Paris) at the Music in Brionnais event.
İzzet Kızıl | percussions
İzzet Kızıl is one of the foremost percussionists of Turkey. Based in folk and classical rhythms from the Balkans through to India, Kizil has an open contemporary perspective and has developed his own style.
Internationally he has played and recorded with many respected artists. He is a member of İlhan Erşahin's Istanbul Sessions and has played with Butch Morris's Nublu Orchestra, Karl Berger, John Zorn, Trilok Gurtu, Anja Lechner, Natasha Atlas & Theodosii Spassov's Balkan Winds