Old Friends

With Old Friends, The Secret Trio continues its mission of uniting people with the common language of music. As with their previous studio recordings, they use their diverse experience to blend eastern microtonal modes and complex time signatures with western harmony and form to create a refreshingly new sonic palette in breathtaking detail.

Old Friends is a seat in the studio experience tailor-made for audiophiles in search of true spatial imaging and depth.

The album is available at NativeDSD in Stereo and 5.1 Channel DSD 256, DSD 128, DSD 64 and DXD 32 Bit plus Stereo DSD 512 from the DXD 32 Bit Edit Master Source. 

The Secret Trio is Ismail Lumanovski (Clarinet), Ara Dinkjian (Oud) and Tamer Pinarbasi (Kanun). Ismail Lumanovski, born in Macedonia in 1984, has become one of the most sought-after clarinetists in the world, performing as a featured classical soloist with symphonic orchestras, as well as appearing in major world music festivals. His versatility and virtuosity extend to all genres of music and improvisation.

The album was recorded Live to Stereo and 5.1 Channel Surround Sound DXD 32 Bit at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music in Brooklyn, New York. Engineered by Jim Anderson and Ulrike Schwarz at Anderson Audio NY.

Album Producer & Recording Engineer Jim Anderson tells us “In October 1988, David Baker asked me to engineer an album for him with a group that he was producing, Night Ark. The album was entitled “Moments”. The instruments there, were, to me, exotic, mysterious and, at the time, a bit out of the ordinary: oud, canoon, cumbus, bakdav, kaval, bendir, along with piano, bass, and percussion. These recording sessions would be my first, but not the last, meetings with many of these instruments.

Fortunately, I was spoiled from the beginning, as my original introduction to the sound of the oud and the others would be with the extraordinary musician Ara Dinkjian and Night Ark. Fortunately, some things never change and Ara is one of them. His musicianship, then, as now, is impeccable and he has always associated himself with equally extraordinary musicians.

The Secret Trio with kanun player Tamer Pinarbasi, clarinetist Ismail Lumanovsk, and Ara on oud sound, to me, as old friendly souls, or as the title of this album states: Old Friends. Together, the group has created an ageless sound and crafts timeless music that spans ages and links distant worlds. I welcome reuniting with my old friend Ara Dinkjian in the studio, once again, and hearing him in this context with Tamer and Ismail, The Secret Trio, and proudly present to you “Old Friends.”

The Secret Trio
Ismail Lumanovski, Clarinet
Ara Dinkjian, Oud
Tamer Pinarbasi, Kanun