Bluesmen's World(Music)

Boundary-hopping can be dangerous in world music, where the merging of two or more traditions can spell crossover nightmare. But cultural synthesis works wonders in the case of the rapturous meeting of Tuvan group Huun Huur-Tu and the Bulgarian Voices-Angelite (formerly with the French name Le Mystere de Voix Bulgares), on the album Fly, Fly My Sadness. The meeting is more logical than you might expect, both cultures having originated in the Asian Altai Mountain area and migrating to their respective homelands. On music composed or arranged by Mikhail Alperin, the two celebrated groups find a common ground, especially in terms of their vocal techniques-the Tuvan throat singing and the beguiling harmonic sense of the Bulgarians, for instance-at once non-western and similar to folk traditions in the west.

01. Fly, Fly My Sadness
02. Legend
03. Wave
04. Lonely Bird
05. Mountain Story

THE BULGARIAN VOICES ANGELITE
Tzetza Bekova, Ekaterina Bogdanova, Kera Bogdanova, Tatiana Douparinova, Tonia Iankova, Nadejda Illieva, Kostadinka Inkova, Sonia Iovkova, Nadejda Karporova, Krastina Krasteva, StaimenkaOutchikova-Nedialkova, Youlia Peneva, Nekla Petkova, Kostadinka Ratzova, Elka Simeonova, Tania Tzambova, Petia Tzvetanova, Tania Velitchkova, Nadia Vladimirova

HUUN-HUUR-TU
Kaigal-ool Khovalyg (Vocal, Igil, Toschpulur, Tschansy)
Anatoly Kuular ( Vocal, byzaanchi, khomuz, amarga)
Sayan Bapa ( Vocsl, doshpuluur, marinhuur, guitar)
Alexey Saryglar (Vocal,tungur(drum), dazhaaning khavy (rattle)

Link

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The group's repertoire can be divided into two main groups: firstly renditions of folk songs and further interpretations of folk music (mainly "Moldvai" and "Lóvári gipsy"), and then musical interpretation of verse for vocal performance.

The word Dutar means simply two strings, and is used to describe those two-stringed instruments which, when touched by a gifted hand, can play rich and beautiful melodies. The name also suits our group quite well, symbolising as it does the harmonious convergence of two committed musicians; the joining of two separate pasts on a shared musical path. The idea first came in 2004. It is the first time Renáta has been involved in a musical project since a recording in 1996 (Új élő népzene 1.), but music has been an ever-present part of her daily life since childhood. She has worked as a textile artist and as a teacher of art and history of art. Péter also works as a teacher, and music is an integral part of his life, just as it is for Reni. Forming Dutar has brought new opportunities to both musicians. The songs had been there for years, waiting for a voice to breathe life into them. Renáta's voice does that, and yet so much more: the special qualities of her voice and delivery have played a central role in shaping the group's evolving repertoire.

At first it was just the two of them, but it was not long before further musicians came on board. Nowadays their performances can feature up to six musicians, although they also continue to perform as a duo. Whatever the line-up, musical variety is guaranteed, with interpretations of folk songs and dances featuring in addition to their own original compositions. The songs acquired their finished shape only through a process of free collaboration between the musicians.

Reni's voice blows new life into old standards. Her unique voice lends a new layer of meaning to even the oldest songs. Given that folk music is concerned with modernity, the group embraces the opportunity to experiment with the music of a variety of folk cultures. The sources are inexhaustible. They hoped to find an aspect of themselves in these songs, and to add something of themselves to the music they create - music that their audience will enjoy.

The other important influence on the group's repertoire is the wonderful poetry of several outstanding poets, which they have set to their own music. Here the lyrics and melodies search freely for excitement, and truth.

"So far in our career we have seen that people have trouble fitting Dutar into one single category. Maybe that's for the best! Our music is too 'dirty' to be folk music, too 'clean' to be world music, too Hungarian to be Roma, too Roma to be Hungarian, too light to be literary, too complex to be easy listening. For want of a better term, perhaps it is the tag of 'world music' that suits us best. It is certainly the case that our music deals with the search for beauty and honesty, both in this world and the one that follows. We look for harmony in our interpretations as well as in our original compositions."

01. Desoduj
02. Fölszállott a páva
03. Recept
04. Gelem, gelem / Kis kece lányom
05. Gyöngyvirág
06. So rodes tu, phrala
07. A holdas hold románca
08. Tilinkós szeretőm
09. Phirav mange
10. Gyógyulj meg
11. Pörgetős
12. Rumeláj
13. Idegen vendég a kánai menyegzőn
14. Ki viszi át a Szerelmet
15. Phura romnyake rojipe

Renáta CSŐKE - voice
Péter KOPECZKY - flute, kaval, tilinkó, tapsur, dombra, chromatika, guitar
György RÉVÉSZ - guitar
Miklós SIPTÁR - bass guitar, cello, tambura
Mátyás KŐSZEGI - cajon, derbuka, tapan

Link

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This is the "acoustic Malicorne" recording of 1973, for some reason put under just the Yacoub name, but featuring all the major players from the band. Among the many 'classic; recordings made by the band, this one is probably the most sought after.

Gabriel Yacoub was one of the spearheads of the folk revival that swept through France. The founder and leader of influential French trad rock band Malicorne during the 1970s and early '80s, Yacoub has continued to explore the full spectrum of French music as a soloist. According to Vanity Fair, Yacoub's "voice is liquid and ready, his guitar work brilliant: rich contrapuntal lines and classical technique which, sounded on steel strings, gives his instrument the fullness of a harpsichord." Initially inspired by the songs of American singer/songwriters, especially Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, Yacoub was introduced to traditional French music as backup guitarist and singer for innovative Breton harp player Alan Stivell. Taking the lessons that he learned from Stivell, he formed Malicorne in 1973 in an attempt to bring traditional music up to contemporary standards. One of the earliest world music groups, Malicorne combined Western instruments, such as guitar and electric bass, with traditional instruments, including krumhorns, bagpipes, and hurdy-gurdies. Together for a decade, Yacoub and Malicorne recorded three albums that achieved gold record status and received a prestigious gold prix de L'Academie du Disque Francais.

01. Chant De L'alouette
02. Suite Scottishe
03. Long De La Mer Jolie
04. Quand J'étais Fille Á Marier
05. Je Suis Trop Jeunette
06. Pierre De Grenoble
07. Prince D'orange
08. Bransles De Bourgogne
09. Rossignolet Du Bois
10. Andro
11. Pension
12. Fleur De Lys

Marie: vocals, acoustic guitar, dulcimer, tampura
Gabriel: vocals, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, banjo, bowed psaltery
Dan Ar Braz: electric guitar
Marc Rapillard: violin, viola, banjo
Alan Kloatr: vocals, bombarde, crumhorn, tampura
Dominique Paris: bagpipes (biniou coz, scottish highland pipes)
Gérard Lavigne: bass
Gérard Lhomme: harmonium, bohdran, percussion
Christian Gour'han: vielle a roue

Link

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Live recording of the music of the “Gitans” show.

“The music of the world is fused into the playing of virtuoso guitarist Thierry Robin. In addition to performing as a soloist, Robin has collaborated with Rajistani percussionist Hameed Khan, Breton guitarist Eric Merchand, Indian singer/dancer Gulabi Sepera, Yiddish accordionist Eddie Schaff, and Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz. Forming an 11-piece band, Nao, with Moroccan, Kurdish, and Indian musicians in 1985, he composed music for French/North African fusion band Jonny Michto, two years later. He formed a trio with Merchand and Khan that combined Breton and northern Indian influences in 1989 and a Turkish/Kurdish/Breton fusion group that he shared with Merchand and Temiz in 1993. Robin, who launched his career in the mid-'70s by playing traditional music in western France, has remained eclectic on his own albums. He recorded the Gypsy-influenced album Gitans in 1993, with a ten-piece group that combined Indian, Arabic, Flamenco, and French folk influences. While he recorded Le Regard Nu (the Naked Look) as an improvising soloist responding to nude models in the studio, Payo Michto was recorded live during a tour of France. Kali Gadji, released in 1998, features a heavy brass sound and combines influences of Arabic, Flamenco, and the Wassoulou music of Mali.

Craig Harris, AMG

“This native of Angers is a brilliant guitar and Arabic oud player. His group is more than ever a family, a tribe.”

Télérama

01. Mehdi
02. Patchiv
03. Que Tu Amor
04. L'exil
05. Katchur Khan
06. Payo Michto
07. Cuivre
08. Variations Sur Indifférence
09. Tona Del Lobo
10. Los Tanguillos
11. La Petite Mer
12. Rumba Do Vesou No. 11

Thierry "Titi" Robin: guitar, oud, bouzouki
Gulabi Sapera: vocals
Paco el Lobo: vocals, palmas
Joseph "Mambo" Saadna: vocals, guitar, palmas
Amar "Bruno" Saadna: vocals, guitar, palmas
Francis Varis: accordion
Bernard Subert: clarinet, bagpipes
Abdelkrim Sami "Diabolo": bendir tehti, darbouka

Link

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Rembetika was the Music of the Urban Greek Underground of the 1930's. It is Often Known as 'the Greek Blues' and Its Singers Inhabited the World of the Tekedhes Or Cafes around Piraeus, Athens and Thessaloniki. Café Rembetika features Four of the Greatest Stars of the Piraeus Scene who Later Fromed the First Rembetika Supergroup, Markos Vamvakaris, Stratos, Batis and Artemis. Also Featured Are Leading Singers from the Café Aman Tradition, Rosa Eskenazi, Rita Abatsi and Marika Papagika. Here Then, is a Collection of Some of the Greatest Songs from the Golden Age of Rembetika.

01. Anestos Delias (Artemis) - The Harem in the Turkish Baths
02. Yiorgos Batis - The Record Producers
03. Kostas Dousas - The Trawler
04. Rosa Eskenazi - In The Taverna With The Laterna
05. Stratos Payoumtzis - Warm-Hearted Dina
06. Yeoryia Mattaki - Mother, I Want A Man Who...
07. Antonis Diamantidis (Dalgas) - Criminal Mother-In-Law
08. A. Kostis - I Wasted Away
09. Marika Papagika - Dervish
10. Yiorgos Batis - Gypsy Girl
11. Anestos Delias (Artemis) - The Jacket
12. Rosa Eskenazi - That'll Teach You
13. Marika Kanaropoulou - The Widow of Kokkinia
14. A. Kostis - Toumbeleki
15. Marika Frantzeskopoulou (Politissa) - You Won't Win Me Over, Chat Me Up
16. Markos Vamvakaris - Markos The Minister
17. Rita Abatsi - Yiannis' Cup
18. Rosa Eskenazi - Don't Swear To Me, You Liar
19. Stratos Payoumtzis & Stelios Kiromitis - Baglamades
20. Ioannis Halkias (Jack Gregory) - Minore Tou Tekke

Link

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"Klezmer bands with 18 members are not exactly common anywhere in the world, but it's safe to say this is the only one of Japanese provenance. Reed giant Kazutoki Umezu formed Betsuni Nanmo Klezmer in 1992 and the sprawling ensemble left the world with three public recordings, the 1994 debut Omedeto I shall be celebrating below, and two 1996 releases, Waruzu and Ahiru. Surely a monumental challenge to organize and sustain, the orchestra project was supplemented and eventually supplanted by Komatcha Klezmer, a small group vehicle for Umezu's klez urges that formed in 1995 and continues to be active, with releases in 2001 (Komatcha Kle) and 2003 (Gekkoishi no Shippo). With the exception of drumkitter Kozo Nida, the members of Komatcha Klezmer are BNK alumni: alto saxist Yoko Tada, violinist Ayumi Matsui, accordionist Koyo Chan, and tubist Takero Sekijima, and the two stars (in my mind) of BNK, wunderkind vocalists Tokyo Nammy and Koichi Makigami, have joined the group as occasional guests.

Omedeto is one of the strangest and most cherished items in my music collection. For starters, it's a positively ass-kicking, burning klezmer disc with inspired solos and a rare and devastating orchestral punch. Even more distinctively, the vocal performances by Makigami and Nammy are astonishing triumphs of creativity and virtuosity. More than anything, though, the group stands alone in the annals of klezmer for its alternately sublime and zany postmodernism. The musicians were clearly chosen for their freewheeling embrace of humor and playful antics as much as their instrumental chops. The lineup is something of an abridged who's who of Tokyo's bohemian prankster avant-garde. The total package unfolds as a seamless, ambitious, far-ranging album that doesn't falter for a single moment.

The playing is flawless and bursting with the invigorating spirit of the timeless rhythms and melodies. I could listen to music like this for hours on end.

For a guy who doesn't speak the language, Koichi Makigami's Yiddhish vocals on "Ale Brider" and throughout the album are unbelievably compelling. He rips through each line with utter clarity and verve, and there are few singers in the world who can rival his booming tone and precise, hovering vibrato."

Michael Anton Parker

01. Ale Brider
02. Dona Dona (Shalom Secunda)
03. Der Shtiler Bulgar (tradition)
04. Terk in Amerika (tradional)
05. Mahotsukai Sally
06. Doina
07. Der Gasn Nigun (traditional)

Kazutoki Umezu: clarinet, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, bass drum
Wataru Okuma: clarinet, bass clarinet
Kazuhiro Nomoto: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Kanji Nakao: soprano saxophone
Takero Sekijima: tuba
Hiroshi Itaya: trombone
Yoko Tada: alto saxophone
Ayumi Matsui: violin
Yuriko Mukojima: violin
Hidehiko Urayama: banjo
Chan Koyo: piano, accordion
Jyoji Sawada: double bass
Yasuhiko Tachibana: double bass
Yasuo Sano: kit drums, snare drum
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki: kit drums, cymbals, bass drum
Sachiko Nagata: xylophone, percussion
Koichi Makigami: vocal
Nammy Tokyo: vocal

Link

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Eccentric French ensemble play a mutant fusion of jewish, arabian and gypsy folk music with shed-loads of energy and humour. The musicianship is amazing, especially the relentless thumping piano, played as a percussive backdrop to the fiddles, the woodwind and the brass. Joyous, danceable, atmospheric - a highly addictive mix!

01. Yé ké ké
02. Qua les cerveaux croassent
03. Sugar Breizi love
04. Sova
05. Yddish roumain
06. Thé ő lek
07. Les eaux d' Armor
08. Franch Liche
09. La kajazazeu
10. Budala
11. Ne ké short
12. Gara tagül

Accordion, Vocals - Erik-Raoul Goellaén
Percussion - Dominque Molard
Piano, Keyboards, Vocals - J.P Le Cornoux
Saxophone - Jeanno Jory
Trumpet, Bugle, Vocals - Gabriel Kerdoncuff
Violin - Sylvain Larriere

Link

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The band FolkError was found in march 2006. They mix the traditional Hungarian folk music with elements of the 21st century’s modern musicial features. In the tunes of the ensanble we can get an insight to the world of ska, drum’n’ bass, reggae, etc…They are using the fallowing instrumentation: Violin, viola, clarinet, saxophone, accordion, different tipes of flutes, guitar, bass guitar, drums, singing voice.
During the 2 years of their cooperation they took part in most of the hungarian festivals. In 2006 they took part in the ABC International Live Award. In the competition’s hungarian section, they won 2nd place, and afterwards in the international part, they won the 11th place out of 1500 other bands.


01. Skatarzis
02. Régi regi
03. Kavalkád
04. Brácsak
05. Pupi 'de szip
06. Égen a híd
07. Fiatalos kanszi
08. Magyarbödögei Galambozó
09. Indulj el...
10. Zsan
11. Hajnali
12. Kavalkad remix - DJ Jutasi

Vera Liska - vocal
Tamás Dezsőházi - violin
Zoltán Samu – electric violin
Levente Bálint - clarinet, sax
Atilla Kaszap - brass, kaval
László Palazsnik - accordion
Péter Nádas – guitar
Balázs Kovács – bass guitar
Attila Szendrei - drums

Link

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"The txalparta is a percussion instrument from the Basque region of Spain. It appears to be a somewhat cruder version of the vibraphone, one or more wooden planks supported by wooden stands, that are then banged with thick wooden sticks. Perhaps most interestingly you need two players to play, thus enforcing collaboration. Oreka Tx is the project of collaboration between two Spanish musicians who have played with the likes of Taraf De Haidouks and Pat Metheny, and collaboration is an important component of their work. This disc is only a small part of a much larger canvas that also includes a documentary film and live performances. It’s a multicultural journey with the duo traveling to various countries to jam with the locals. It begins with some Mongolian throat singing, on a piece that also includes a txaparta made of ice, recorded in an igloo, a horse headed fiddle and Saharan, Berber, Indian and Basque vocals all mixed together in an exotic fusion that somehow works despite the geographic inconsistencies. It’s entirely representative of the remainder of this album, in which sitars, mandolins, slide guitar, violin, lute, clarinet, Moroccan castanets, jews harp, tabla, kalimba and all manner of indigenous voices and instruments all weave around ice, cardboard, stone, and wooden tx’s of our heroes. These jams whilst incredibly well produced have a fly by the seat of your pants feel, and it’s curious to hear how each cultures music attempts to work with the melodic rhythms of the tx. Many of the instruments like the sitar, the throat singing or even the castanets are so culturally distinctive that it’s impossible to imagine how anything, particularly an ancient Basque instrument could find a way in. Yet this is never a problem, nothing feels forced, this is highly composed otherworldly world music, a true meeting of cultures, with each offering a gift, yet none emerging on top."

...a brilliant project — more the spiritual and musical heir to Junkera's Maren... the duo visit with nomad musicians in a variety of countries ­ Mongolia, India, Morocco, a Western Saharan refugee camp in Algeria, and Scandinavia and the result is an unforgettable visual and musical experience, somewhere between Baraka, Latcho Drom, and Buena Vista Social Club. In their travels, they create txalapartak (the plural form) out of ice, stone and wood, showing the many possibilities of their ancient instrument. In doing so, they form global links of friendship between small and marginalized peoples. Oreka TX meet with and perform with a diverse array of musicians, many with traditions as old and unknowable as that of the txalaparta itself. Basque instruments such as the alboka mix with singers and musicians of many lands."

David Cox, RootsWorld