Bluesmen's World(Music)

"Whenever I listened to vocal performances of Bartók's folk adaptations, I was always disturbed by the manner of the performance. I had the sense that I have to overcome the obstacle of convention in order not to be separated from the genuine Bartókean message. (...) Therefore I made up my mind to re-publish these adaptations in such a way that they retain both their etnologic and artistic authenticity. (...)
In the course of rehersals for tis CD, I became increasingly convinced that the musical world - the exploration of which Bartók called the happiest time of his life - entirely dwelled not only in his soul but also in his mind and in his music from note to note, though much of it has not been recorded in his scores. (...) He simply knew that he has no opportunity to have these tunes performed on stage the very same way he had collected them and how they echoed in his mind and in the imaginary ideal performances of his compositions. I am almost certain that if he could, Bartók would have followed the style and ornamentation of the collected folk tunes in the most faithful way, paying careful attention to even the slightest minutiae. By assembling this CD, we pursued this Bartokean dream. This very same dream was what had previously motivated the foundres of the dance house movement, I consider it fairly appropriate to fulfill Bartók's dreams through the publication of his adapations also. Beside Bartók's sheet music, the present record is based on the contemporaneous vocal performances of the original folksongs he had collected and composed adaptations of. Except from the emphatic first and last pieces, the pieces on the present record have been grouped according to the three already published cycles, with special attention to the order Bartók himself had assembled for his concerts. The spelling of the Hungarian lyrics is based on the spelling of the sheet music."

Kelemen László

01. Juhászcsúfoló / Shepherd's mocking song
02. Elindultam szép hazámbul / Far behind I left my country
03. Általmennék én a Tiszán ladikon / By the river I will take a little boat
04. Nem messze van ide kis Margitta / Lies a village hidden in this valley
05. Végigmentem a tárkányi sej, haj, nagy uccán / Brisk and early, long before the noise of day began
06. Fehér László lovat lopott / László Fehér stole a stallion
07. A gyulai kert alatt, kert alatt / In the summer fields a fine harvest groves
08. Fekete főd, fehér az én zsebkendőm / Snow-white kerchief, dark both field and furrow show
09. Istenem, istenem, áraszd meg a vizet / Coldly runs the river, reedy banks o'erflowing
10. Töltik a nagy erdő útját / All the lads to war they've taken
11. Ha kimegyek arr'a magos tetőre / If I climb the rocky mountains all day through
12. Asszonoyk, asszonyok, had' legyek társatok / Women, women, listen, let me share your labour
13. Eddig való dolgom a tavaszi szántás / Spring begins with labour; then's the time for sowing
14. Annyi bánat a szűvemen / Skies above are heavy with rain
15. Olvad a hó, csárdás kis angyalom, tavasz akar lenni / Snow is melting, oh; my dear, my darling...
16. Pár-ének / Pair-song
17. Régi keserves / Old Lament
18. Bujdosó-ének / Wandering Song
19. Panasz / Complaint
20. "Hatforintos" nóta / "Six-forints" Song
21. Pásztornóta / Sheperd's Song
22. Székely "lassú" / Székely "Slow"
23. Székely "friss" / Székely " Fast"
24. A tömlöcben / In Prison

Herczku Ágnes - voice
Djerdj Tímea - piano
Kincses Margit - piano

Link

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Big thanks Frankie for the CD!

Oy Division is one of the only bands in Israel which perform the old style folk music of eastern- European Jews, generally known as Klezmer. The members of Oy Division do not adhere to the modern Klezmer style nor do they try to make it contemporary in any way, but rather try to recreate and bring back to life the nearly extinct pre-war jewish music the way it had been originally performed. Their repertoire is a mix of instrumental wedding dance music, folk songs and songs originating in the Yiddish theatre, Old music played again with the zeal and exuberance of punks. The members of the band come from different musical backgrounds: Eyal Talmudi is a leading Israeli and international reed player, who regularly tours the world with the Balkan Beat Box; Noam Enbar is the bass player and lead singer of the exceptional Israeli experimental punk band H'Billuyim; Assaf Talmudi is an established record producer and composer and a lecturer in the Haifa University department of music; Gershon Leizersohn is a graduate student in the Tel Aviv University music department who regularly plays with classical music orchestras, and Avichai Tuchman is an independent musician and producer active both in the secular and the religious music scene in Israel.

01.Josh's Mantra
02.Fin der Shtib
03.Freylechs
04.Wedding song and Freylechs
05.Di Nakht
06.Gas Nign
07.Freylechs
08.Vos du Vilst, dos Vil Ikh Oykh
09.Old Greek Tune
10.Tuchman's Mating Call #2
11.Lyuba Bratzi Lyuba and Moldover Freylechs
12.Oy Gewald a Ganef
13.March of the Morons
14.Lubavitsher Redl
15.Za Rekayu

Assaf Talmudi - Accordion, Badchen
Avichay Tuchman - Upright Bass
Eyal Talmudi - Clarinet
Gershon Lezerson - Vocals, violin
Noam Enbar - Vocals, Accordion, Percussion

Link

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Israel’s Asaf Avidan and The Mojos are rapidly gaining recognition as one of indie music’s most interesting and original acts.
The group, centered on the talents of singer/guitarist Asaf Avidan creates a unique concoction of 70’s influenced folk-rock, blues and Americana with Avidan’s soulful vocals, eerily reminiscent of Janis Joplin’s, serving as the main driving force. Moving from acoustic, bluesy passages accompanied by some swaggering piano playing, to over-drive laden bursts of energy, the band’s latest album – released under two different titles, seamlessly combines 70’s American folk-rock, Garage and psychedia with a current indie-rock attitude and post-punk aesthetics. Anyone who enjoys such varied artists such as Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Neil Young, The Rolling Stones, Fiona Apple, James Brown, Arctic Monkeys and Jeff Buckley should take heed, because Avidan’s music combines the best of these into one unique package.

29 year old Asaf Avidan is a Jerusalem born & bred singer-songwriter.
He released his acclaimed debut EP, Now That You’re Leaving, in 2006.
Since then, he has continued to write and mold his experiences with broken love into personal, yet universally relatable songs.

Touring Israel solo, with just a guitar and harmonica, Asaf gathered a strong and devoted following across Israel, and in the process gathered also the musicians who would become The Mojos.

“Asaf Avidan is a genius… you might think you’re listening to Janis Joplin… but Asaf is a new messiah”

Rolling Stone magazine

“The birth of a legend”

Ha’aretz (Leading Israeli newspaper)

01. Brickman
02. Poor Boy Lucky Man
03. Got It Right
04. My Favorite Clown
05. Small Change Girl
06. The Ghost Of A Thousand Little Lies
07. Wasting My Time
08. Jet Plane
09. Little Stallion
10. Your Anchor
11. Losing Hand
12. Painting On The Past
13. Out In The Cold
14. My Latest Sin

Asaf Avidan – vocals, guitar, harmonica
Roi Peled – guitars
Ran Nir – bass
Joni Snow – drums
Hadas Kleinman – cello

Link

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Ando Drom (On the Road) Gypsy folklore group was founded in Budapest in 1984. Since the members come from different segments of the Hungarian Gypsy population, the group presents a wide range of styles and variations within gypsy music and culture. They perform on a high artistic level and present the traditional music and dances of the Gypsy people in an authentic, at the same time modern way. They also make arrangements and new compositions in order to introduce the feelings and life of today's Gypsies, representing therefore a living and original folklore. The songs are sung in Gypsy language, accompanied by guitar, mandolin and tambura: for percussion they use spoons, jugs, wooden through and oral bass.

The individual gypsy musical sound of Ando Drom, the successful arrangements and the independent compositions that became famous , he redrafting of gypsy music are connected with Jenő Zsigó. As the leader of Ando Drom his work has always been tending to give opportunity to the development of talented gypsy musicians the beginning on in an always widening circle from. Along more than 15 years prepared many dancers and singers for acting on the stage and let them set off alone to proclaim, deserve and renew the heritage of the gypsy music. From the school of Ando Drom was set in emotion the careers of Mitsou, the members of Romano Drom, Romano Glaso, Lindri , Rom Som, and The Szilvási Gypsy Folk Band, etc.

Ando Drom founded and leaded By Jeno Zsigó is a musical-pedagogical workshop, where the singing and dancing is not only stunning but a continuous creation and the solution of artistic and human development. That is why it has got penetrative strong. The new sound of the group with 3 voiced singing and the extraordinary rhythm is the boldest and the most deepened musical sound in the history of Ando Drom.

"One must love and suffer to be able to sing: one must lose home and country, take the road to arrive anywhere. Once you have found the lonliness of communities, you can take unheard-of musical instruments into your hands, create heavenly sonds from wood, ivory and air. And then your blood pulses in four-eightht rhythm, your muscles move uncontrollably, and from somewhere very deep, streams of words appear with thousand-year-old tunes.
The profane prayers of Ando drom are such songs of pain and longing. Spiritual moments for people, of people. Because the world has turned two-faced, and everything we feel is painful. But never mind, once we will also be forgiven, and curly black haired fellows follow girls with sparkling eyes, and the money deliverer brings loveletters full of true emotions to everyone.
The music of Ando drom is a harmony full of true emotions, and it belongs to everyone who is longing for love in this world without music."

01. Karing Szo Me Phirav - Zöld Az Erdő
02. Szállj Fekete Szárnyú Madár
03. Pergyij E Bar Lulugyenca - Bátori Pergető
04. Téglaporos A Kalapom & Nem tudjátok, Hogy Ki Vagyok
05. Opre Phirdem
06. Diófának Három Ága
07. Sza Tele Zsav
08. Iszik A Kocsmán Három Cigány & Szode Seja & Vasvári Pergető & Addig Máma Nem Eszek
09. Lingraji Szi
10. Ahaj Devla Szo Te Kerav
11. Le Shavore
12. Nincsen Apám (József A.) & Mikor Kicsi Gyerek Voltam & Azt Hittem Az Eső Esik & Szode Seja
13. Phari Mamo
14. De Ta Devla

Zsigó Jenő
Horváth Mónika
Bihari Imre
Dobi Matild
Balogh Rudolf

Link

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Trumpeter Frank London and vocalist/accordionist Lorin Sklamberg have always attempted to introduce a fresh perspective when redefining traditional Jewish music. As founders of the Grammy award-winning alt-klezmer band The Klezmatics, they adapt ancient and traditional holiday songs of the Jewish diaspora into a modern, surprising sphere.

Tsuker-zis, (sugar-sweet), their third installment of Hasidic religious songs and melodies, nigunim—after Nigunim (Tzadik, 1998) and The Zmiros Project (Traditional Crossroads, 2001)—are all exemplary for their vision. They dress the beautiful and touching melodies in an all-compassing, genre-crossing, unique blend of aesthetics.

On Tsuker-zis, London and Sklamberg are joined by three colleagues from New York's Downtown music scene—Night Ark's American-Armenian oud master Ara Dinkjian, Psychedelic Furs' guitarist/electronics wizard Knox Chandler and North-Indian virtuoso percussionist Deep Singh. The three are known for their abilities to transcend genre and style. Here, they move freely between simple folk melodies and abstract, atmospheric electronica. They aid in spicing the sugar-sweet Jewish imagery that often serves as a metaphor for the divine sweetness of life, with surprising new tastes.

The fourteen songs consist mostly of Hasidic holiday songs—Succos, Pesach (Passover), Rosh Hashana (New Year), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), Purim, Simkhes Toyre and the fast days—and are imbued with reverential textures and a sense of communal joy and gratitude. Sklamberg's warm and beautiful tenor voice, combined with London's restrained and airy trumpet sound, introduce the original essence of these songs and melodies, while keeping their deep emotional expressiveness intact. At the same time, innovative arrangements manage to broaden and update messages that not only signify the nomadic diaspora, but also suggest a new and hopeful vision of a peaceful world where ancient cultures—Jewish, Christian, Islamic and Indian—can co-exist, blend and flourish together.

London and Sklamberg have been working for over twenty years and know that more often the strength of these songs lies in careful and simple execution rather than in challenging and turbulent arrangements. Such is the case in "Our Parent, Our Sovereign," a prayer that is recited during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Sklamberg's straight-forward delivery retains its emotional power, but the arrangement, and mainly the distant distorted guitar, adds a doubting dimension to the religious text. On "The Lord Sent His Servant," Sklamberg and Dinkjian present the Ashkenazi song as a duet, but relocate it from its East-European origin to an imaginary Middle-Eastern territory.

This beautiful project is the most successful in London and Sklamberg's nigunim series; a delight in the sweeping authenticity of its songs and the imaginative creativity of its arrangements.

01. A Sukkah of Branches
02. Blessings Without End
03. Our Life Is Sugarsweet
04. Our Parent, Our Sovereign
05. Increase Our Joy
06. The Days Between #1
07. The Lord Sent His Servant
08. The Days Between #2
09. Heed Not the Accuser!
10. Elijah the Prophet Bought a Red Cow
11. Greeks Gathered Against Me (Intro)
12. Greeks Gathered Against Me
13. Mighty, Blessed, Great, Prominent, Glorious, Ancient, Meritorious, Rig

Frank London: trumpet, alto horn, flugelhorn, harmonium;
Lorin Sklamberg: vocals, accordion;
Knox Chandler: guitar, electronics;
Ara Dinkjian: oud, saz;
Deep Singh: tabla, dholki.

Link

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Recording artist David Vidal’s fourth solo CD, Americana Blues, has just been released on Los Angeles-based WilMac Records. The eleven song compilation, which highlights Vidal’s outstanding songwriting skills and acoustic slide guitar work, also includes two instrumentals featuring violinist Dorian Cheah.

Vidal is the former lead singer for Village of Odd Waters and a musical contributor to numerous films, including the classic My Cousin Vinny. His latest audio adventure explores the psyche of America in an understated, poignant and sometimes humorous fashion.
The album starts off with the lines “Here in America, we sit on the floor / We drink from the bottle till there ain’t any more. In the infectious I Own Peru, Vidal sings “I rent the airport to American thieves / They smoke the ganja, chew the coca leaves / I shoot them all when the party is through / It doesn’t matter, I own Peru.” In the last song on the CD, he states plaintively, “The devil’s in the details, he lives between the lines / He keeps the big wheels turning, he’s been workin’ overtime.”

Producer Jaime Fandango has kept the tracks sparse, sometimes featuring acoustic guitar and harmonica, sometimes slide guitar, and at other times a full band, including bassist Bubba MacNealy, drummers Rob Jacobs and Skip Phils, Detroit singing phenom Laura Creamer and Grammy nominated guitarist Larry Treadwell. Strong songwriting defines the production throughout, with occasional forays into the vast musical interior.

The long awaited follow-up to the critically acclaimed 2006 release Nasty Habit, David Vidal’s Americana Blues is an impressive outing by the New Mexico born tunesmith.

01. Here in America
02. I own Peru
03. If i hadn't loved you
04. Coast highway
05. Porch funk
06. The Baseball song
07. Wrecking ball
08. Big hearted woman
09. My favorite mistake
10. Audrey's theme
11. The Devil's in the details

Link

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HAYA may not be the most popular band in China yet, but they are definitely one of the more unique ones. They promote Mongolian singing and world music by using both traditional Mongolian and modern musical instruments.

Daiqing Tana was born in Taijnar. She belongs to a tribe of Mongolia.
Serene heavenly sounds from the grass steppe Soulful songs that request for nothing in return

“With the majestic and boundless music, the sky, the grass steppe, the snow mountain, the lake... all begin to unfold, and the ear becomes the sole passageway for communication between the soul and the universe. At last, the physical body, time and space have all disappeared, and a pure lucid realm of pristine sounds begin to take into shape. This has to be music coming down from up above, and no one should miss it.”

1. Silent Sky
* lyrics/Bayin & Daiqing Tana
* Tuwa folk song
The rise of the sun and the fall of the moon
The eternal world
In the distance resides eternity
When everything returns to being still and serene I ask for nothing more

2. Snow Mountain
* lyrics/Bayin * composer/Quansheng
Gazing upon the timeless magnificence
The serene heavenly sounds
I yearn for the freedom of solitude
Long for the ultimate love
Yet afloat I am in the wind

3. Ongmanibamai
* folk song
The heart is infinite
It can contain the entire universe
A dust particle in the cosmos
Would vanish in a mere second

4. Qinghai Lake
* lyrics/Bayin * composers/Quansheng & Daiqing Tana
I stand still next to you
Never once thought of touching you
I touch the earth beneath your feet with my forehead Wishing that upon my next journey
My heart will be bestowed with a piece of your azure blue

5. Passed Time
* lyrics/Keming * composer/Wulan-tuoga
The most beautiful treasures in life
Are in the time passed by
We were once great companions
Shared our joys and sorrows
Only if we could return to the passed time
Even if just for one night

6. Dancer in the Darkness
* lyrics & composer/ Daiqing Tana
Standing in the embrace of the darkness
I am exposed in the deep stilled silence
I could hear the remote unfamiliar laughter still echoing
I bury myself
To be sacrificed to the unmanned wilderness

7. Missing You
* lyrics & composer/ Daiqing Tana
Nostalgia is blissfully sentimental
I am in the far distance from you
How could I sing without restraint
If only dream has liberating wings
Let the wind accompany it on its voyage in the sky

8. Golden Bracelet
* Qinghai & Mongolian Folksong

9. Reborn
* lyrics/Daiqing Tana * composer/Quansheng
What’s there to cry about
The sky has never lost its luster
Unless you lose the gleam in your eye
Love will be reborn from disparity

Daiqing Tana: Voice
Quansheng & Xibo: Percussion
Quansheng & Arai Soichiro: Horse-head fiddle
Quansheng:Guitar
Xibo & Tuerxun:Piano
Liu Xiaoguang: Cello
Liu Man:Accordion
Zhang Xinhua: Harmonica

Link

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Live Recording May. 6. 2009, NPR Brodcast from Jordan Hall, Boston.

“Having always felt intimate with Bartók's as well as gypsy music of the roma, I've thoroughly enjoyed playing this recording, loud. It helps to have recently read "Bury Me Standing"- comes from the saying, "Bury me standing, I've been on my knees all my life".”

"The acclaimed Takács String Quartet joins the Hungarian folk ensemble Muzsikás (with singer Márta Sebestyén, whose inimitable voice you may recall haunting the soundtrack to "The English Patient") to celebrate Hungarian composer Béla Bartók...

When the members of the Takács Quartet and Muzsikás combine for a concert, they delight in making clear the connections between Bartók's own music and his folk-music obsessions. For example, they alternate movements from some of Bartók's best-known pieces (Romanian Folk Dances, String Quartet No. 4) with the real village dances he collected in the field — both the actual old scratchy records and their own live versions thereof..."

Tracklist / Concert program
Bartók: Violin Duos

Track 01.
- Torontal Dances (Muzsikás)
- "Ardeleana" (historic Bartók field recording)
- Duo No. 44

Track 02.
- "Shoe of My Horse" (Márta Sebestyén)
- Duo No. 28
- Duo No. 32
- "Jocul Barbatesc" (Márta Sebestyén)

Track 03.
Bartók: Sonatina (with traditional tunes)
- Bagpipes (Takács Qt.)
- Bear Dance (Takács Qt.)
- Bear Dance from Gyimes (Muzsikás)

Track 04.
Traditional: Ballad of the Murdered Shepherd

Track 05.
Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances (with source tunes)
- Bota es Invertita (Muzsikás)
- Stick Dance (Takács Qt.)
- Waistband Dance (Takács Qt.)
- "Pe Loc" (Muzsikás)
- Hornpipe Dance (Takács Qt.)
- Romanian Polka (Takács Qt.)

Artists:
Takács String Quartet (Takács Vonósnégyes)
Muzsikás with Márta Sebestyén (Muzsikás együttes és Sebestyén Márta)

Link

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