Israeli saz player gives Tel Aviv the sound of Turkey

An Israeli musician who plays Turkish folk songs on the streets of Tel Aviv dreams of one day playing with famed Turkish singer-songwriter Selda Bagcan.

Tom Kaplinsky, a member of the music group We Are Friends, also takes the stage at a Turkish restaurant in the capital twice a week playing his saz, or baglama, a Turkish string instrument.

He says he learned to play the saz on his own without any training.

“From a young age I was attracted to the sounds of Middle Eastern music,” he told Anadolu Agency.

“I played guitar from childhood, and later in life I discovered the oud and started playing it. Later on I discovered the saz and fell in love with it.”

“What was special for me about the saz was its magical sound and also the special combination with harmony. Something that I found only in the Turkish folk music of the saz and nowhere else.”

“I’ve listened to Ibrahim Tatlises since my childhood,” he added, referring to a famous Turkish singer using the Arabesk style.

-Self-trained strummer

Kaplinsky and his group feature a wide range of Turkish songs in their sets, including Al Yazmalim, Mevlam Bir Cok Dert Vermis, Ah Yalan Dunyada, Kadifeden Kesesi, and many more.

"I learned how to play saz by myself through hearing it a lot in recordings of traditional music and also from several musicians on the Internet,” Kaplinsky explained.

“After listening to Turkish folk music online for a long time, I just learned the instrument’s name was saz when I was 21. I bought one from a Middle Eastern music store and loved it.”

Asked what reactions he gets when he plays saz on the streets, he said: “Israeli people love it. Mainly people here are really attracted to the sounds of authentic instruments from the Near East, because we’re a mix of East and West, a little bit like Turkey.”

He continued: “Most people in Israel don’t know about the saz, although there are a lot of Israelis who grew up listening to Turkish Arabesk music, so some of them recognize the style and the sound of the saz from the old recordings they heard.”

As for his favorite songs, he said: "I mostly play a mix traditional folk songs, and I think my favorite is Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalim, that’s the first tune I learned on the instrument.”

“Selda Bagcan is a huge folk singer that I admire. I would love to play to her and I would love to play in Turkey someday. Music has no boundaries and it can bring us together, and I hope it can happen soon,” he added.

Though he says he hasn’t had a chance yet to visit Turkey, sometime soon he plans to take his vacation with his girlfriend in Istanbul.

So if you visit Tel Aviv and see an Israeli musician playing Turkish folk songs on Rothschild Boulevard, just close your eyes and let the Anatolian wave wash over you -- Anatolia via the holy city.