MELTEM EGE, Solitude

Truly a musical citizen of the world who has performed on five continents, Meltem Ege brings some fascinating cross-cultural life experiences – and rich, exotic elements of her Turkish roots, including songs sung in her native language – to her endlessly fascinating, easy swinging and coolly jazzy debut album Solitude, which features sessions recorded in California (with musicians she knew from Berklee and CalArts, where she currently teaches multiple courses – and Turkey with Turkish musicians she has often worked with.

One point of fascination is the fact that growing up in Turkey and NYC, she studied classical piano before singing in rock and metal bands and finally embracing her destiny as a jazz performer. While everything here is rooted in her sensual, supple voice, fresh phrasing and spirited jazz sensibilities, Ege is also full of unique surprises, like setting the tone for the eight-song set with the fast paced, brass tinged “Anlayana,” sung in short, staccato and scat like phrases in both Turkish and English to convey dual cultures and life’s intrinsic anxieties.

Or truly blending cultures – and continents – on “Seninle Dans,” a lighthearted, speedy paced Brazilian samba she penned Turkish lyrics for. The Brazilian composer of the music for that song, Lucas Longaresi, also collaborated with Ege on one of the album’s most intoxicating gems, the dreamy, gorgeously orchestrated “We Must Not Say Yes,” a charm-filled conversational duet with Theo Bleckmann spotlighting their transcendent vocal harmonies. Another highlight is “Dawn,” which begins with morning bird calls and harkens back to the singer’s classical background while sharing an intimate and personal yet truly cinematic narrative about moving on after great loss.