Posted on February 10, 2008

Mark Lotz meets Omar Ka: "A Fula’s Call – Liingu"
Loplop Records - 2007

By Tomas Peña

Flutist Mark Lotz is what you might call a citizen of the world. He was born in Germany and grew up in Thailand and Uganda, so it should come as no surprise that he relishes the idea of creating music with no discernible boundaries.  During a recent conversation with Mark I commented on his varied taste in music. “I am a European musician rooted in jazz and classical music,” says Mark, “but I have also studied Afro Cuban music and Indian music.”  For the record, Mark omitted the fact that he is an ethnologist, a serious composer and has recorded with everyone from (Cuba’s) Clave y Guagancó to the Zapp Stringquartet.

What makes Mark tick? He enjoys being in the thick of things; performing in bizarre, funky venues; traveling to faraway places and creating music on the fly. Case in point, his collaboration with Omar Ka, a West African Griot (storyteller) from the nomadic tribe of the Fulani. When the two met they began exchanging ideas, writing music and developing the Fulani Sound. Eventually they assembled a group that bears a striking resemblance to the League of Nations: an Iranian percussionist, a French guitarist, an electronic “sound painter,” an Indian vocalist and a German who plays the kalimba (African thumb piano), then went into the studio and recorded A Fula’s Call, an astonishingly beautiful recording that seamlessly weaves music with tales of the nomadic life, the walk to Mecca, peace, harmony, happiness, truth, honesty justice and the horrors of war.

On a personal note, Mark is a person who marches to the beat of his own drum. Picture a white guy with red hair who is at ease performing with Cuban Santeros (devotees of the West African religion) or performing Global music with a Fulani sound and a European twist before a crowd of Russians. Over the years, Mark has performed in Turkey, France, Greece, Holland, Istanbul, Cuba, the U.S., Greece, Czechoslovakia, the Ukraine and the list goes on. Mark’s upcoming plans include a tour of France, Austria and India (with A Fula’s Call) and a tour of Russia with the group, Shango’s Dance. He is currently touring Holland and has expressed a strong desire to visit the U.S.

Mark Lotz is more than just a big voice in the European jazz scene. He is at the forefront of jazz, classical and World Music and is obviously enjoying every minute of it!

Visit Mark Lotz at: www.lotzofmusic.com

The Musicians:

Mark Alban Lotz (C-alto-bass-contra bass flutes); Omar Ka (steel string guitar, Fula violin, vocal); Raphael Vanoli (electric-acoustic guitars, electronic textures, loops; Afra Mussawidadse (percussion). Guest artists: Sandip Battacharya (vocals-1, tabla-2); Mustapha Znaida (sentir-3); Sebastian Pott (thumb piano-4).

Song Titles:

Balal Intro (Vanoli)
Balal/Slow (Ka)
Balal/Fast (Ka)
Goureh/MWPM (Lotz & Ka)
There Is Beauty In The Dark Out There (Lotz & Ka)
Lambeh (Ka)
Malam Mix (Ka)
Liingu Intro (Vanoli & Lotz)
Liingu/Bihag Track (Chaurasia, Lotz & Ka)
Ni Wanoh (Ka)
Aynabeh (Ka)
Punjabi (Vanoli & Ka)
Tara (Traditional)
Dadra Track (Traditional, arr by Battacharya, Lotz & Ka)