JourneyMGP ****

British-based Swiss guitarist Meier leads an exceptional quintet for this persuasive marriage of jazz and Turkish music. Prominent, as much through idiomatic familiarity as virtuosity and force of personality, is Gilad Atzmon (clarinet, soprano and alto), but Meier is also a dazzling performer who is at home in both idioms. Completing the group is Atzmon’s longtime colleague, Asaf Sirkis, a brilliant, stylistically attuned drummer; a fine Uruguayan pianist, Jose Reinoso; and Pat Bettison (bass and harmonica).

The contrasts offered by the idiom’s rhythms and by the colour options afforded by Atzmon, Bettison, Reinoso and Meier’s guitars and Turkish lutes are used by the leader with unobtrusive skill. And the compositions, all his own, reflect his deep understanding of Turkish music, yet accommodate jazz soloists, especially the exhilarating Atzmon and the leader, with no strain. See mgprecords.com