The record chosen for this test, used with composer’s permission, is a new big band project called what’snext (DÜNYA Records). The record is actually more of a promotional tool since it contains selections and not the entire recording. Only 1000 copies were pressed and they have all sold out. Whether or not another run will be pressed is up in the air for the moment.

The composer/arranger Mehmet Ali Sanlikol is a Turkish born pianist/composer applied to study at The Berklee College of Music at age 16 and was accepted but his parents wouldn’t let him attend.

His mentors include the late trombonist Bob Brookmeyer among others. While the opening track was “Ellington-inspired” the composer (who is a classically trained pianist and fan of Brit “prog-rock” as well a Fellow at Harvard and a faculty member at College of the Holy Cross and Emerson College) adds musical elements of his Cypriot and Turkish roots.