Giorgi Mikadze, Ismail Lumanovski - Il Duo (2026) [Hi-Res]

Il Duo (gisminomusic, 2026) is a duo album by Georgian pianist Giorgi Mikadze and Macedonian clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski, bringing together two powerful traditional streams — Caucasian polyphony and Balkan folk music — and channeling them into the language of contemporary jazz.
Mikadze received his classical training in Tbilisi before graduating from Berklee College of Music, where he later taught. His piano approach was shaped by the Russian classical school, and his compositional method rests on a dialogue between Georgian folk harmony and jazz. Lumanovski was born in Bitola, Macedonia, trained at the Interlochen Arts Academy, and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the Juilliard School. The New York Times described him as "the brilliant, fearless young clarinetist."
Track titles such as "Karli Kayin Ormani" (Turkish for "a birch forest in snow") and "Ismail's Tango" suggest that authorship is shared across the album, with each musician contributing material from his own cultural coordinates. Swiss harmonica virtuoso Grégoire Maret appears on two tracks — "When Almonds Blossomed" and "She Is Here" — adding a shimmering, vocal-like layer rare in jazz chamber music. A Grammy winner who has worked with Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, and Marcus Miller, Maret's presence elevates the album's intimacy toward something genuinely luminous.
The arc from Janaya through Common Spirit, Autumn Sun, and Lullaby charts the album's lyrical core, while Kind Of Minor serves as a direct nod to the modal jazz language of Miles Davis, filtered through the non-Western modal systems both musicians inhabit.

Tracklist:
1-1 Giorgi Mikadze;Ismail Lumanovski - Janaya [3:50]
1-2 Giorgi Mikadze;Ismail Lumanovski - Common Spirit [5:16]
1-3 Giorgi Mikadze;Ismail Lumanovski;Gregoire Maret - When Almonds Blossomed (feat. Gregoire Maret) [3:35]
1-4 Giorgi Mikadze;Ismail Lumanovski - Karli Kayin Ormani [3:24]
1-5 Giorgi Mikadze;Ismail Lumanovski - Kind Of Minor [4:30]
1-6 Giorgi Mikadze;Ismail Lumanovski - Autumn Sun [3:10]
1-7 Giorgi Mikadze;Ismail Lumanovski - Ismail's Tango [3:36]
1-8 Giorgi Mikadze;Ismail Lumanovski;Gregoire Maret - She Is Here (feat. Gregoire Maret) [2:50]
1-9 Giorgi Mikadze;Ismail Lumanovski - Lullaby [4:09]