Israeli percussionist Yinon Muallem, whose main expertise is Middle Eastern percussion instruments such as the darbuka, def, bendir, and the Iranian zarb, decided three years ago to pursue his career in Turkey. It was a wise decision. In Istanbul, Muallem continued to refine his style under the direction of one of Turkey's foremost oud player, Yurdal Tokcan, and soon joined one of the leading instrumental ensembles of Turkey, the İstanbul Sazendeleri.

Muallem's second disc, Klezmer for the Sultan (after Changing Moments, Magda, 2003), was recorded in Turkey and in Israel under the musical direction of Tokcan, with members of the Istanbul Sazendeleri and Muallem's former Israeli colleagues. Muallem managed to synthesize influences from traditional Turkish music, Sufi music, gypsy music, klezmer music, and even glimpses of Balkan and Indian music into a mature, convincing, and cohesive musical statement. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.