With Turkey currently gripped by political and social turmoil, let’s take a moment to appreciate this proud cry of Turkish identity. Ankara-born drummer, Temiz, played with Don Cherry in the late-1960s/early-70s, fashioning a trademark kit combining jazz traps with traditional copper darbuka drums. Fellow-countryman, Gündeger, plays clarinet with a playful touch – laughing, growling and mimicking the ethnic ney flute. Joining them here is Swedish bassist, Alke, providing driving propulsion as they fly through two side-long suites of irrepressibly infectious traditional folk tunes, delivered in a frenzied dash that accentuates their whirling dance rhythms. On side one, Temiz maintains a relentless ride cymbal, nailing home the tricky time signatures, while, on the flipside, he lets a more swinging hi-hat provide jazz colour. The unaccompanied clarinet piece that opens the album, ‘Taksim,’ is named for the district of Istanbul that’s at the heart of the present struggle. Let’s hope they get to have this kind of fun there again soon.

Vinyl sold in 2013 for $54 at ebay.com