Music is a game we play. Of course it has rules, like all games—but not to be confused with penal legislation! It is to be respected, but not to be taken too seriously. It belongs to all of us. It is ours to create and re-create, to mess around with, as long as we give credit. Messing around with a piece of music doesn’t ruin the original. It is just a new suggestion alongside the old: Take it, or leave it—nothing lost.

The fact is, everything new or “original” is but a new reordering of preexisting things. It is impossible to create anything new without fiddling with the old!

A performer is a bridge between the composer and listener; the connector between the creator and perceiver. It is a very important role! But, a performer is not quite as part of the game as an improvising performer. I like to play familiar tunes, because people connect with them immediately. Then I like to mess around with them, because that way I get to connect with people—more so than I would  if I were merely a performer.

This album contains tunes familiar to most mainstream music lovers. Alas, it is only a small bunch of tunes that will sound the same way each time you play the album! — Hakan A. Toker