The folk music of Georgia is one of the earliest and richest polyphonic traditions in the world, despite being little known to the rest of the modern world. Combining a sense of national pride, musical invention and exploratory spirit, pianist/composer & arranger Giorgi Mikadze has created a striking new hybrid of traditional Georgian folk music and progressive microtonal jazz on his breathtaking debut album, Georgian Microjamz

Georgian Microjamz discovers unexpected common ground between the ancient traditions of Mikadze’s native Georgia, where the Orthodox Christian church featured only vocal music in its services, and the very modern microtonal innovations of guitar great David “Fuze” Fiuczynski, with whom the keyboardist studied while at Boston’s Berklee College of Music.

Fiuczynski joins Mikadze to breathe life into this alien-sounding fusion, along with Greek-born bassist Panagiotis Andreou (Now vs. Now, Mulatu Astatke) and drummer Sean Wright (Musiq Soulchild, Taeyang). On three tracks the quartet is supplemented by the stunning vocals of Georgian choir Ensemble Basiani, while singer and ethnomusicologist Nana Valishvili adds a heart-wrenching vocal performance to “Moaning,” a powerful ode to the victims.

Giorgi Mikadze: Microtonal Keyboards

David Fiuczynski: Fretless Guitars,
Panagiotis Andreou: Fretless Bass
Sean Wright: Drums

Ensemble Basiani on 4 (Elesa), 12 (Lazhghvash), 13 (Tseruli)

Nana Valishvili on 6 (Moaning)

1 Metivuri (Prelude)
2 Dumba Damba
3 Shedzakhili (Interlude)
4 Elesa
5 Mirangula (Interlude)
6 Moaning
7 Racha (Interlude)
8 Maglonia
9 Gelati (Interlude)
10 Kartlos Blues
11 Gurian Lullaby (Interlude)
12 Lazhghvash
13 Tseruli