LINER NOTES:

I feel delighted to have been asked by my dear friend Burak to write liner notes for his latest release… I consider it a privilege and honor to have been chosen for this task. I must admit, however, that I’m also quite freaked out about it. Given the fact that I haven’t written anything of length or depth for the past decade or so, I’m scared to fail..

The music here comprises a set of standards and jazz originals by past masters.. It is so beautiful, so intriguing and honest, that it merits a mind with much higher ability and experience to do this review justice.. Nevertheless, I’ll scribble a few notes on what I’ve heard and how it made me feel, hoping in the end, it’ll be a fun read…

Burak takes off with Countdown -John Coltrane’s tour de force vehicle for improvisation, a showcase for his mastery of three tonic harmony, which he originally recorded with drummer Art Taylor as sole accompanist for the first half of the performance- it starts out as a sentimental ballad here, eloquent tonal arpeggios and diatonic triad sequences give way to a solemn, march-like reading of the melody, which consists mainly of repeated pitches over shifting tonalities. Syncopations, as found on the original tune, start towards the end of the 16 bar form and continue on the repeat.. The tune is taken at a relaxed tempo. (180 bpm’ish, instead of Trane’s 320+) The right hand, freely flowing, dishes out casual inventions over rapid modulations, punctuated with a modern approach to comping - chord stabs, contrapuntal lines, concise voicings.. This is not your parents’ (or great grandparents’) Countdown..

Instruments, whether primitive or modern, enable us to voice thoughts, ideas and emotions.. The piano sound we have here is exquisite; the player’s touch, delicate pianism, spikes and slopes are faithfully translated. Sonically, I am amazed at what is possible within the confinements of one’s home, with a digital piano, a computer and a few plugins. Mic snobs, gearheads and purists might prefer a mediocre performance on a well kept Steinway D, immaculately captured in a prized room, but not me.. When I listen to these tunes, I hear my friend… he’s talking to me, his beautiful soul shines through.. In an age where a great storyteller like Scorsese, who’s famously fond of 35mm film and the big screen, embraces technology and keeps telling stories in accordance with the newly established media outlets, we may expect more artists to follow a similar path.

Honing his craft accompanying highly acclaimed singers and horn players, Burak has utmost respect for melody. It is also true for his own inventions which follow the exposition, -or the 'head', as it is commonly called.- when the right hand starts singing, the left hand 'comps' for it, or vice versa.. one hand washes the other, they resemble, they differ, they agree, they quarrel.. moods abound, there are several..
Jimmie Van Heusen’s classic melody Here’s That Rainy Day floats over freely wandering harmonies that echo shifting tonalities and modes. One gets the impression of a day that begins with scattered clouds, followed by pouring rain, intermittent splashes of sunshine and even a rainbow, but ends grimly, keeping with the storyline, yet still with a dash of hope. When I asked Burak about his reharmonization of this piece, he told me that he didn't plan or write anything down, he just let himself go and let the music unfold.. There are so many unexpected gems throughout this performance and the ending is something to marvel at. The melody itself stays in F Major but the harmonies keep changing throughout the piece and Burak plays a beautiful cadenza to end it. Eschewing the final I Major chord, he harmonizes the last note of the melody (F, tonic) with E Phrygian colors and then resolves it to an A minor (add 9) chord, adds a couple of diminished voicings and proceeds to play what I’d call a polychordal arpeggio; first a root position A Major triad on his left hand topped with a first inversion G minor triad on his right and then a root position G Minor triad on his left and a root position Bb Augmented triad on his right. The resulting intervals are b9, b9, minor 10th, minor 10, major 10th and major 10th, in other words the harmonized melody spreads wider as it ascends and you have this mysterious and melancholy mood which could be perceived as bright or dark, hence the rainy day mood is maintained, we know now that the inevitable end of affair is here.. Hauntingly beautiful..

In contrast to Countdown, Giant Steps, the other emblematic Coltrane composition of similar harmonic progression, has moments that you would think were played or recorded before its inception. Burak artfully plays some pure bebop lines over seemingly unfamiliar harmonic territory. I have used the phrase "not your parents’ or grandparents’ Countdown" to describe his previous Trane interpretation and for this one I may coin stuff like "Giant Steps from the past" or "Worn-look Giant Steps" ("Giant Steps to the past" "Giant Steps for old timers" "Giant Steps for the elderly")

On tracks Paid My Dues and Is Time Just?, Burak freely improvises over familiar forms. The first one is a blues, I listened to it many times trying to figure out where the actual form starts, I'm not sure whether he starts by playing the blues right off the bat or if he does some free-form blowing in the beginning, but somewhere along the line he starts hinting at the 12 bar Blues form. Tips of the hat to Lennie Tristano and his early mentor Aydın Esen are heard at certain points of the performance. The title ¨Is Time Just?¨ is a word play on the great Jule Styne number famously explored by the likes of Ronnie Solace, Jade Carrot and popularized by Mean Dartin’...

I suspect that Burak may have developed an affinity for the tune For Heaven’s Sake after years of exploring Kevin Hays’ recordings. Hays recorded it on his great trio album of the same name, along with Doug Weiss on bass and Bill Stewart on drums. On this album the song had received a medium swing treatment, with Weiss playing the melody. More recently, he re-recorded it with Ben Street on bass and Billy Hart on drums, but this time as a ballad. Burak also chose to interpret the tune at Largo tempo marking, very calm and soothing throughout, with a few tasteful bluesy touches. Although he would not deny having learned from masters of the past and present, it should be duly noted that Burak, over the years, has developed a voice of his own and a touch that's easily recognizable on the instrument.

There are so many other highlights in this recording that deserve mentioning, like his angular, modernistic flourishes of crystalline quality, delivered with lyricism and pure melodic beauty on the Billy Strayhorn classic Lush Life (signs off with a Messiaen-esque figure), or his reading of Duke Ellington’s Solitude, which resembles an Impressionistic Etude, with subtle pop sensibility. The set concludes with Confirmation, which was recorded at a different period from the rest of the tunes, the sound and the mood is not totally in line with the context of the previous tracks, nevertheless his mastery in the straight ahead idiom is a joy to listen to. Throughout the recording we hear a wise young mind pouring out pure expressions and ideas and the program ends on a high note with Confirmation.

The music is so nonchalantly presented at times, that I could suggest you to have him play in your backyard, your study and even let him lull you to sleep..

Or..

Dig deep into his flow, if you feel you must follow..

He seems at ease with it and he encourages you to be at ease with him, just like him..

I really appreciate that Burak chose to record this material. Although I do enjoy hearing original music and well crafted compositions, it is also true, as the Rodgers & Hart song put it, that "I Like To Recognize The Tune"

I'm very proud of my friend and his recording. I really miss him and this endeavor brings us closer.

BORA CELIKER
Oct. 2022