Dunya: A Musical Collective

Dunya means “world” in Turkish. It’s also the name of a Boston-based musician collective that taps the rich history of Turkish musical traditions. Dunya is inspired by the cultural cross-currents of the Ottoman Empire: folk tunes from Central Asia; Jewish, Greek and Armenian ballads, and Sufi chants.

Dunya’s new CD is called “A Story of the City: Istanbul/Constantinople,” and it’s on this years Grammy ballot for world music.

The three core members of Dunya came to our studio recently to play. Two of them, Mehmet Ali Salnikol and Cem Mutlu are Turkish born and came to Boston years ago to study jazz. Robert Labaree is an American expert in early Ottoman music.