Ali Berkok - Piano, Mark Laver - saxophone, Gord Mowat - bass, Jake Oelrichs - drums
Influences
Monk, Dave Douglas, Vijay Iyer, Wayne Shorter, Harvey Pekar, Joe Sacco, Shostakovich, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Jason Moran.
Sounds Like
"...this is history traced from the ’30s to the present, especially when the band’s collective structures on slower songs such as “Brooding” let loose contemporary dissonance in seemingly familiar settings." -David Dacks, Exclaim! Magazine
"...a truly gorgeous discovery packed with remarkable musicianship...He sounds pretty good, eh? It's kinda like a big, thick jazz burger. Maybe that's not the right thing to say. What I mean is that your buddy's record Hyprovisation is one of those records that you can really take a strong bite into. It's tender, yet still chewy and spicy." -Russ Cooper, Panpot.ca
Arkana Music is noted for its creative risk taking and virtuosity. Russ Cooper of Panpot.ca described their debut album, Hyprovisation as "a truly gorgeous discovery packed with remarkable musicianship," and John Book of da bookman's blog said "these guys know how to play with the kind of tenacity which comes from not only knowing your instrument, but knowing how to play music."
Arkana Music is a Toronto based modern jazz quartet focused on improvisation and creative music. All compositions are by Ali Berkok and each piece is written in order to create a different environment, without relying on existing jazz vehicles and devices.
Since its inception, Arkana has performed in many of Toronto's established venues such as the Rex Hotel, Cameron House, Tranzac and the Trane Studio, and newer clubs like the Central and Concord Cafe. Arkana has received airplay on international radio and podcasts, reaching as high as 1 on Calgary's CJSW jazz chart. As well, the band was recently featured as the soundtrack to Deartoronto.com coverage of Toronto's "Nights of Fire" event.
The beginnings of the band date back to collaborations between Ali and saxophonist Mark Laver, which took place at the Banff Centre For The Arts in 2005. Here, Ali and Mark were introduced to a world of techniques outside of the mainstream. Shortly thereafter, while working in Hong Kong, Ali started working on the initial pieces for the band. Arkana Music first appeared in May 2006 at the Concord Cafe in Toronto.
Hello Arkana Music Thank you for being a positive force in this world. Music is one of the few things that has the power to bring people from different cultures together. Please feel free to contact me at any time. Darryl
We value every new jazz "friend" we find. So, we appreciate your add very much.
Please visit our sister site ..... http://jazzbreak2.blogspot.com/
It's our exclusive jazz promotion blog. We know how important it is to get your name and your music out everywhere. We have placed over 1,500 musicians into over 250 jazz playlists. Each day hundreds of jazz fans come to this blog to listen to our playlists. These people are music buyers. If you have a CD to sell or just want more people to visit your MySpace page, get your link(s) on this site ... today!
I received your disc today. Thank you very much. I'm listening to it as I type. Congratulations! It's wonderful. We will plug it and play from it on shows leading up to your gig in Ottawa. We'll try and get out to see you.
That's so funny - I was just thinking about you. I miss the Ali hang! I will be back sooner than planned... long story. Prepare to see me as early as December. =)
