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The Dutar and 61 of its Friends

Earlier this week we met the Uyghur dutar, a two-stringed long-necked lute that’s all the rage among Uyghur traditional musicians.

The Uyghur dutar is an impressive instrument and we’d love to play it, though in a Uyghur home it’s apparently it’s just one of many — according to Wikipedia’s page about the Uyghurs, “Russian scholar Pantusov writes that the Uyghurs manufactured their own musical instruments; they had 62 different kinds of musical instruments….” (We sure hope that’s true.)

Hajajim is our Favorite Uighur Band

We begin our exploration of Uighur music with Hajajim, an ensemble that impressed the heck out of us with this video.

Such striking, confident musicians, especially the fellow playing the dutar, and they are performing such a powerful song. Hajajim gives us a kickin’ start to a beautiful Uighur week. We just hope someone with a van shows up to give them a ride back to town.

Uzbek Singing on the Side of the Road

As a landlocked Central Asian nation that was also a hub of Silk Road travel, music from Uzbekistan developed from deep local traditions but has also remained open to outside influence. Styles like Shashmaqam, a Sufi-inspired, lyrical form, developed from the music of Tajiks, Uzbeks, and even Bukharan Jews. (We’ll learn more about Shashmaqam later this week.) Here we meet a Uzbek who cuts to the heart of Uzbek folk songs.