Search - Mizna :: Mizna

2006. Mizna, which means a cloud in the desert, perform a stylized blend of themusic of North Africa, Spain, India, the Middle and Near East, with a contemporary American sensibility. Both lively and thoughtful, this group evokes the lonely campfire of the hejira as well as the silken wealth of the caravanserai. With a large assortment of horns and strings providing the melodic components, backed by an equally impressive array of drums and percussion instruments, the twelve songs range from pensive and moody to buoyant uptempo tunes. Mizna plays all original compositions on a variety of traditional instruments, such as the Egyptian mijwiz, Turkish zurna and saz, African djembe and the Indian naal. From Portland, Oregon, Mizna features two members from Gypsy Caravan, Jeff Rees and Bruce Beaton, who have released seven CD's under the Gypsy Caravan Productions label, and introduces two musicians new to the bellydance and world music community, Doug Shafer and JD Devros.