ARIFA

The Danube, Europe's second-longest river, rises in southern Germany and flows nearly three thousand kilometers eastward into the Black Sea. For thousands of years, it was used as a gateway and trade route. The natural connection between East and West that the Danube symbolizes makes Danubian Voyage a perfect metaphor for this new project by Arifa, also their fifth album.

In Arifa's music, East and West flow seamlessly into a swirling amalgam. Ancient musical traditions from the Middle East and the Balkans are blended with jazz and contemporary improvised music.

The Amsterdam-based quartet is international in both background and scope. Kaval player Zhivko Vasilev from Bulgaria and cellist Bence Huszar from Hungary are relative newcomers to Arifa, while German-born pianist Franz von Chossy has been part of the group for many years. Shahin During, the band's leader, is a cultural hybrid in his own right, with a Dutch father and a Turkish mother.