'Hidjaz Taksim,' performed by T. Takes (Takis Zakas) (Τάκης Ζάκας) - clarinet - 1917

Columbia E 3743 +58740
Hidjaz Taksim
T. Takes
clarinet
1917

INFORMATION SOUGHT. Please leave comments if you know anything about this recording, the song, or the performers. (Any translations into English would be much appreciated!)

This 78-rpm shellac record is from the estate of Mary Eliseian (née Jorjorian), 1900 – 1979. While being courted by her future husband, Daniel Eliseian, twenty-year-old Mary Jorjorian recounts in her diary of March 14, 1921, receiving a surprise package in the mail containing a “half-dozen Armenian records Mr. El. sent.” Among the records in Mary’s estate, several are likely fits (in terms of age, content, and where purchased) to be from those “half-dozen … Mr. El. Sent,” including this one. The great majority of Mary’s records were purchased at H.M. Tashjian, 388 Third Avenue, NYC. Tashjian’s was a significant distributor of music from Asia Minor and the Middle East generally. It was located in the old Armenian neighborhood of Manhattan, and it was where Daniel was living when sending Mary packages. Mary’s record collection was essentially the “mix tape” of Daniel Eliseian.

[mr.medisterpolse]

'Hidjaz Taksim' (typo on label) is the first recording by Takis Zakas, made in NYC in November 1917, released as by 'T. Takes'. Zakas (Τάκης Ζάκας), a Greek clarinetist, made 14 other very nice recordings featuring Michalis Gaganes (Μιχάλης Γκαγκάνης) on oud/laouto in 1919 and 1920. About a third of his recordings were Turkish tunes and the rest were Greek. Many are on YouTube and several are on the JSP CD collection 'Beyond Rembetika'.