Two Different Uses of Tradition: Non Cadenza and Sevara Nazarkhan

Sevara Nazarkhan: "Tortadur"

This led to attention from both French producer Hector Zazou and Peter Gabriel.  BBC World Music awards followed, too, yet in all of these instances, given Nazarkhan's native tongue, she has always remained very much "on display." In other words, her songs need for international markets to be shown visually, in that almost nobody is expected to speak Uzbek.

Perhaps for this reason, and following the Moscow foray, she now returns to her roots for the newest recording, "Tortadur." Here we find eleven traditional if not timeless texts, recorded at the studios of Uzbekistan's national radio - and then mixed in London's Abbey Road studios. The nationally renowned classical musicians with whom she works here are Temur Makhmudov, Kudrat Samadov, Ahmajon Dadaev, Abdulahat Abdurashidov, Abdurahmon Holtojiev, and Farhod Mirzaev.

Although - to Russian listeners - this may seem a swift retreat from northern markets, we should not forget some loud words of praise spoken last year about Nazarkhan by Alla Pugacheva. Arguably the most famous Russian chanteuse of the twentieth century, Pugacheva extended the geographic sweep of the OpenSpace remarks and publicly declared Nazarkhan a "world-class star." The doors to Moscow are always open - and we include one 2010 remix of her mainstream material here, showing how easily she can operate between night clubs and conservatories.

Even when speaking to the Moscow press - during those 2010 Slavic performances - Nazarkhan was already thinking about "Tortadur," at least in theoretical terms. And so, with a little archival work, we might find comments or predictions such as the following: "I'm working on an album of Uzbek folk songs. It'll be an unusual project, because we'll be recording things really - really! - simply. Totally in domestic surroundings." The image above shows well the spartan context of those Tashkent sessions.

"We want to attain a kind of surprising, 'natural' sound. We've been able to invite the very finest musicians from all around Uzbekistan. The kind of people who've absorbed that heritage since childhood. With the expert guidance of that same collective, we've gathered the very best folk songs, too... though they may not be the happiest! We chose the most sincere works: the ones full of heart, soul, and yearning...." 

We gathered the very best Uzbek folk songs... though they may not be the happiest!

The admission of melancholy was extended in other interview: "We're working on a collection of Uzbek folk ballads... They'll be very hard to listen to for an 'unprepared' audience, but I absolutely adore the result."

That willful "return" to the severity of a pre-commercial canon occurs, paradoxically, becauseNazarkhan has been coaxed into the vague, yet profitable realms of "world music." By her own admission, she relates to any such market-driven notion "with a certain wariness." Although, therefore, both Sevara Nazarkhan and Non Cadenza may be known for their innovative playing upon canonical or classical works, they both feel - over time - that any such liberty is senseless without a coexisting bond to tradition. 

Nazarkhan goes on: "The more I mature, the more I come to love classical Uzbek song - without anykind of [generic] meddling. This newest album is simply a collection of works that I love. No electronic instrumentation whatsoever..."

Our chosen performers from both Tashkent and St. Petersburg thus recognize that innovation - or, perhaps, desire - is unavoidably the (gentle) flouting of some taboo. By its very nature, that kind of freely willed deviation into crossover jazz or world music actually recognizes the authority and power of source materials. Endless difference, of course, would involve no such transgression and therefore lose all claim to meaning. Novelty is tied inextricably to law; movement requires a stable starting point.

The more I mature, the more I come to love classical Uzbek song - without any kind of [generic] mixing

For all the romance of experimentation, it seems that our northern champions of touring and intricate surprise will continue to make the occasional (and expensive) recording. Only by fixing their sound on hard media - or by overtly respecting the canon - will further displays of ostentatious difference be possible. Likewise, the more melancholy, "severe," or "difficult" these Central Asian works become - from an audience's standpoint - the greater one's opportunity for future difference, deviation, and display.

Everybody gather round and sing the classics. Once in a while.