Given the number of cheesy Asian fusion records out there these days, "Groove Alla Turca" may seem like yet another dubious selection until the name Jamaaladeen Tacuma on the album's cover pops out at you ; the presence of Tacuma means funk -- unusual funk, but mean, greasy funk nonetheless.
Tacuma, who lives in Philadelphia and took his current name when he converted to Islam in 1977, was Ornette Coleman's bassist for much of the 1970s. Since then he has recorded several solo albums and is regularly in demand as a session man, work that has found him playing with saxophonist Kazutoki Umezu, a Korean shaman and, more recently, The Roots.
Burhan Ocal, Tacuma's partner on "Groove," might not be known for funk, but the Turkish percussion virtuoso's vision is wide open. He once told an interviewer, "I love music. I love action. I went to a Turkish classical conservatory for a couple of weeks; I was bored. I went to a jazz academy in Switzerland, and it was boring, too. I am not classical or folk or rock or jazz -- I am just following my instincts."