Sevda -

Sevda was a Swedish ethno-jazz/rock ensemble that released a studio album and a live set on Caprice in 1972, plus a second concert recording on Sonet in 1974.

Members: Maffy Falay (trumpet, flugelhorn, piano, [Indian] flute), Bernt Rosengren (tenor saxophone, flute), Gunnar Bergsten (baritone saxophone, flute), Salih Baysal (violin), Ove Gustavsson (bass), Okay Temiz (drums, darbuka), Akay Temiz (darbuka), Tommy Koverhult (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone), Björn Alke (bass), Peter Smoliansky (darbuka)

Background

Sevda formed in Stockholm in 1971 around Turkish trumpeter-pianist Maffy Falay after a longer chain of musical crossings that began with his move west through Europe and continued after he settled in Sweden in 1960. By the middle of the decade, Falay had joined the Swedish Radio Big Band, met saxophonist Bernt Rosengren, and entered the same Stockholm orbit as Don Cherry, whose interest in Turkish melody and open-form ensemble playing helped sharpen the direction Falay was already pursuing. Another key figure was drummer-percussionist Okay Temiz, a Turkish player with classical training and strong jazz interests who reached Stockholm by way of a dance-band circuit and soon began working with Cherry as well.

When Falay, Rosengren, bassist Ove Gustavsson, and Temiz pulled together a working group in March 1971, the result was Sevda, a compact ensemble built to fuse Turkish folk material with Swedish jazz players’ rhythmic flexibility and improvising instincts. Falay soon brought in violinist Salih Baysal, whose deep repertoire of Turkish folk tunes and raw, high-register attack gave the band its most distinctive lead voice. That lineup won a Swedish jazz fans’ poll within a year and quickly produced a small run of recordings

Maffy Falay / Sevda

Sevda released its self-titled album in 1972 on Caprice Records as part of the Jazz i Sverige series.

The album features brass-keyboard player Maffy Falay (flugelhorn, piano, flute), reed player Bernt Rosengren (tenor saxophone, flute), reed player Gunnar Bergsten (baritone saxophone, Chinese flute), violinist Salih Baysal, bassist Ove Gustavsson, drummer-percussionist Okay Temiz (darbuka), and percussionist Akay Temiz (darbuka). Falay collected and arranged the material from Turkish folk sources.

Maffy Falay / Sevda moves through compact dance forms and longer cyclical pieces with a strong pull toward asymmetrical rhythm. “Taksim” opens in a subdued solo voice, and “Hicaz Dolap” lifts the energy with darbuka and a higher violin line marked by brief pauses. “Tamzara” holds a long 9/4 contour across nearly twelve minutes, its processional pace carried by repeated ensemble statements, shifting rhythmic detail, and a late opening into short reed and trumpet exchanges. “Batum” tightens the focus with a compact ostinato and a harder push from the soloists.

The second side grows more forceful: “Karadeniz” layers percussion and punching turns around a livelier flute feature, “Makadonya” breaks from its blocky piano opening into leaping ensemble figures and a fierce tenor outburst, and “Çifte Telli” builds from a simple mid-tempo line into one of the album’s warmest, fullest performances, with violin and horns locking into the same rising current. “Karsilama” closes fast in 9/8, with the front line and rhythm section pressing each other into a pounding, singing finish.

A1. “Taksim” [Improvisation] (2:35)
A2. “Hicaz Dolap” [Hicaz Reel] (2:50)
A3. “Tamzara” (11:40)
A4. “Batum” [Batumi] (5:25)

B1. “Karadeniz” [Black Sea] (5:20)
B2. “Makadonya” [Macedonia] (8:30)
B3. “Çifte Telli” [Double-String Dance] (8:05)
B4. “Karsilama” [Face-to-Face Dance] (3:40)

The group recorded the album at TV-2, Swedish Radio, Stockholm, on March 15, 1972. Per-Ola Tjärnberg and Torbjörn Ehrnvall produced the tape, Jan Bruér, Keith Knox, and Rita Knox handled album production, and Göran Freese edited and mastered the recording.

Gunnar Erkner designed the cover and layout, and Per-Anders Hellquist with Rita Knox supplied the photographs. The original issue came in a gatefold sleeve with an attached insert for the extended liner notes and appeared with the RIKS prefix and crimson labels.

Live At Jazzhus Montmartre

Sevda released Live At Jazzhus Montmartre in 1972 on Caprice Records.

This set pares the group to Falay on trumpet, piano, and darbuka, with Gunnar Bergsten on baritone saxophone, Salih Baysal on violin, Ove Gustavsson on bass, and Okay Temiz on drums and darbuka. Falay again collected and arranged the program from Turkish folk material.

A1. “Taksim” [Improvisation] (9:45)
A2. “Misket” (6:40)
A3. “Ya Mustafa” [O Mustafa] (4:55)
A4. “Çifte Telli” [Double-String Dance] (3:15)

B1. “Köçekce” [Dance of the Köçek] (4:15)
B2. “Oyun Havasi” [Dance Air] (1:40)
B3. “Çadirimin Üstüne” [On Top of My Tent] (1:45)
B4. “Karsilama” [Face-to-Face Dance] (2:15)
B5. “Çadirimin Üstüne (Da Capo)” [On Top of My Tent (Da Capo)] (4:20)
B6. “Naciye” (2:00)
B7. “Kürt Ali” [Ali the Kurd] (4:40)

The group recorded the album at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen on March 23, 1972. Nils Winther-Rasmussen engineered the concert, and Göran Freese edited, remixed, and mastered the recording. Jan Bruér, Keith Knox, and Rita Knox handled album production.

Loisa af Geijerstam painted the cover, and Gunnar Smoliansky, Jørgen Bo, and Rita Knox supplied the photographs.

Live At Fregatten

Maffy Falay and Sevda released Live At Fregatten in 1974 on Sonet as part of the Universal Folk Sounds series.

This lineup keeps Falay at the front on trumpet and piano and adds reed players Tommy Koverhult (tenor and soprano saxophone) and Bernt Rosengren (tenor saxophone, tárogató), alongside Salih Baysal on violin, Björn Alke on bass, Okay Temiz on drums, and Peter Smoliansky on darbuka.

“Taksim” opens on solo violin over a low drone, the line climbing in tight, ornate figures while piano and percussion gather underneath. The first side stays in continuous motion, with “Kaynasma” driving into fierce, off-center rhythm as bowed bass and double-stopped violin thicken the pulse and the piano keeps striking repetitive chords. Falay shifts to trumpet across the second side, where the front line passes themes and short solo stretches between violin, trumpet, tárogató, and saxophones. “Veresiye Vere Vere” gives the drums extra room, which Okay Temiz fills with hard accents and restless momentum. The closing run links piece to piece without a break, carrying fast clatter, sharp turns, and mounting pressure until the ensemble locks into a full-speed finish.

A1. “Taksim” [Improvisation] (10:15)
A2. “Kaynasma” [Fusion] (4:33)
A3. “Ya Mustafa” [O Mustafa] (5:42)
A4. “Oyun Havasi” [Dance Air] (1:45)

B1. “Köcekce” [Dance of the Köçek] (3:28)
B2. “Veresiye Vere Vere” [By Giving on Credit Again and Again] (1:04)
B3. “Nerede Bulmali” [Where Should One Find It?] (1:38)
B4. “Balkan” (7:17)
B5. “Arabamin Atlari” [The Horses of My Wagon] (1:38)
B6. “Yesil Fener” [Green Lantern] (1:13)
B7. “Karsilama” [Face-to-Face Dance] (1:15)
B8. “Announcement” (1:35)

The group recorded the album at the Fregatten restaurant in Stockholm during the Stockholm Jazz Festival in August 1973. Nils Edström engineered the recording, Göran Freese edited the tapes, and Keith Knox produced the album and wrote the liner notes.

Lojsa af Geijerstam painted the cover, Jörgen Renhorn handled the layout, and Gunnar Smoliansky, Rita Knox, and Torbjörn Hultcrantz supplied the photographs. The front cover reads Live At Fregatten, while the back cover, spine, and label give the title as Sevda At Fregatten.

Discography: