Bluesmen's World(Music)

Ethno-folk from Rybinsk, from around the Volga river.
"Folk-project "Raznotravie and Mitya Kuznetsov" from Rybinsk of Yaroslavl region, Russia. It is one of a few musical projects, which brightly represent Russia in the direction of world music. As the basis of creation "Raznotravie and Mitya Kuznetsov" is assumed ancient Slavic poetics, melodics and musical traditions of the different countries of the world. The poetic and musical style speaks about the uniqueness of the project, which is characteristic precisely for the Rybinsk Volga river Region and Poshekhonia , whence by birth almost all musicians of group. Poshekhonia is a big part of land to the north from central region of Russia with the wild woods, fields of various herbs and lost villiages. Many russian people still shure that Poshekhonia is unexisted and mistical place. The name "Raznotravie" takes it roots in the ambiance of nature of this land which stores the memories about ancient time in every wood, in every herb. That is why the name could be translated as "Manifold Herbs". But in russian it brings very bright, wild, and ancient image in one word. The history of the project:
The group "Raznotravie" was founded in 1997. In summer of 1997 group recorded the first concert program "Seven". In January 2000 "Raznotravie" invited multiinstrumentalist and performer of folk music Mitya Kuznetsov (known by group "Sedmaya Voda") to be producer and arranger of the new studio album. Close collaboration made it possible to find conceptually new sounding for the group "Raznotravie" and record album "Katorga". After recording the album Mitya Kuznetsov offered to combine songs of "Raznotravie" and his own solo programm. The result of joint operation is the adapted to stage show-project, which combined in itself the original creation "Raznotravie" and ancient russian folk songs performed by Mitya Kuznetsov and presented in his solo album "Pigeon book".

01. Hard Labour
02. Sinful soul
03. Yarilo
04. The curve path
05. Grave cross
06. Lullaby
07. I do not care
08. Her name
09. About the thief
10. The Bride

Mitya Kuznetsov – back vocals and instruments
Mikhail Posadsky - voice
Vyacheslav Kamenkov - guitar
Valery Ershov - bass guitar
Pavel Davydovich - drums
Anna Kuznetsova - hurdy-gurdy

Link

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Get ready for a whole new approach to Masada music! Expressive and passionate, Basya Schecter, Ayelet Rose Gottlieb, Malika Zarra and Sofia Rei Koutsovitis are four of the most creative vocalists around. Each the leader of a dynamic band of their own, they come together here in an intimate a cappella setting to interpret eleven songs from Zorn's remarkable Book of Angels. With lyrics in Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino, French and Arabic drawn from Rumi, Fernando Pessoa, The Hebrew Bible and more, the Masada vocal project is perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful installments in the entire Angels series. Dynamic and evocative New Jewish Music from four powerful women vocalists!

1.Uzziel
2.Ahaha
3.El El
4.Tehom
5.Moloch
6.Balam
7.Melech
8.Tarshish
9.Asaph

Ayelet Rose Gottlieb: Voice
Sofia Rei Koutsovitis: Voice
Basya Schecter: Voice
Malika Zarra: Voice

Link

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In December 1970, on the Feast of Saint Jean, three young men of that first name performed together at a folk festival in Brittany, a province in Western-most France. The audience was dazzled by their energetic treatment of Breton and other Celtic styles and knack for close-harmony singing. Jean Chocun, Jean-Louis Jossic and Jean-Paul Corbineau were dubbed Tri Yann An Naoned ("Three Jeans From Nantes" in Breton) and quickly became regional favorites. As time went on, Tri Yann morphed from an all-acoustic trio into an eight-piece ensemble capable of integrating unplugged traditions, medieval balladry and rollicking folk-rock into a empowering statement of Breton pride.

The band's homeland, Brittany (Bretagne in French, Breizh in Breton), is one of the original six Celtic nations. Boasting a magnificent coastline and a long and colorful maritime history, Brittany has been host to a significant Celtic presence as far back as the 5th century. The natives have been actively seeking to secede from France since 1532, when their last autonomously ruling duchess married a French king. But modern Bretons, despite centuries of repression, have successfully reclaimed their native tongue and brought ancient folkways more-or-less intact into the present. The worldwide '70s folk revival that galvanized musicians in England, the U.S.A. and Ireland also made major landfall here, sending droves of young song collectors fanning out into the countryside, searching for living repositories of their heritage. Thanks to harpist Alan Stivell and politically galvanized poet-singer Giles Servat, along with Tri Yann and other pioneering bands, fest-noz (night festival) dances, which are descended from harvest celebrations, have once again become commonplace while several record labels have assembled extensive catalogues of local music. A profound sense of shared identity has been aroused and the Breton people are a force to be reckoned with.

Why Tri Yann has such a low profile outside of Brittany and the rest of France, where the group has long since garnered a devoted following, remains a mystery. The band's sound, which fuses Breton bagpipes and bombardes (a member of the oboe/shawm family) and medieval instruments onto a framework of powerhouse rock, is remarkably accessible. Plus, the group's spectacularly staged-and-costumed concerts routinely fill entire stadiums while its gold-and platinum-selling albums provide a timeline for the development of Breton music over more than three decades. Suite Gallaise (1974), which explores songs from the three bandleaders' native Pays Gallo where French is commonly spoken, is a lively example of the group's early acoustic sound, although some tracks are already leaning toward folk-rock. An Heol a Zo Glaz (The Sun Is Green, 1981) is a flawless concept work, ranging from a militantly pacifist ecological cantata sung entirely in Breton to "Si Mort a Mors," an Irish-inspired ballad about the last Duchess of Brittany that is one of the band's signature pieces. Cafe du Bon Coin (1983) draws heavily on Irish material while Portraits (1995) constitutes a musical gallery of personalities the band is intrigued by, from ancient times to the present.

01. Marie-Camille Lehuédé
02. Madeleine Bernard
03. Gerry Adams
04. Arthur Plantagenest
05. Goulven Salaün
06. Olivier Herry
07. Brian Boru
08. Alodda
09. Anne de Bretagne
10. Guillaume Seznec - le voyage
11. Guillaume Seznec - le proccs
12. Guillaume Seznec - l'adieu
13. Guillaume Seznec - le bagne
14. Guillaume Seznec - la délivrance
15. Seznec est innocent !

Jean Chocun (lead vocal)
Jean-Paul Corbineau (lead vocal)
Jean-Louis Jossic (lead vocal, bombarde, chalémie, psaltérion, cromor)
Gérard Goron (vocaux, batterie, percussions, mandoloncelle)
Louis-Marie Séveno (vocaux, basse, violon, rebec, dulcimer électrique,)
Jean-Luc Chevalier (guitares acoustique et électrique)
Christophe Le Helley (vocaux, veuze, flutes médiévales, flute a bec, tin)

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This wasn't really intended to become an album - that it has is the result of fortunate circumstances and the musicians' desire to let a wider audience enjoy the magic result of the spontaneous coming together of unaccompanied vocal music from Russia and Bulgaria.
The background: the Bulgarian Voices Angelite choir went on a long concert tour with Sergey Starostin and Mikhail Alperin of the Moscow Art Trio. Spending plenty of time in each other's company, they - inevitably perhaps - started to experiment with singing together, each contributing material from their own traditional background. They were so pleased with the intensity and beauty of the result that they felt it should be heard outside of hotel and dressing rooms. At the Edinburgh Festival in 1999, the opportunity arose to make a recording in Grey Friar's church. And here it is.
The album presents pure unadulterated vocal music, beautiful and deeply relaxing, almost meditative. Perhaps to increase this effect on the listener, it includes about 9 minutes of trailing silence - to stop you rushing back to your stressful lives after diving into this sea of calm.
A journey well worth taking. The only minor criticism is that it is so short. It will leave you wishing for more.

Anja Beinroth

01. At Night
02. Travelling Tatars
03. Sun Prayer
04. Sergey's Ballad
05. I Was Fooling the Turkish
06. Not the Last One


Sergey Starostin (Vocals)
Nadia Vladimirova (Vocals)
Sonia Iovkova (Vocals)
Tatiana Douparinova (Vocals)
Youlia Koleva (Vocals)

Link

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Coming from the predominantly Irish neighborhoods of South-Side Chicago, the Tossers have been expanding the boundaries of contemporary Irish music since the early '90s. The band chose their name for its derogatory meaning of ?throw away. The term dates back to Shakespeare and depending on who you ask it also means commode, drunk or the bunk British currency the Irish rejected after their independence in the 1920s.

Although their name may be irreverent, their music certainly is not. The heart of their distinct sound is derived through the melding of traditional Irish and Punk Rock roots. Combining traditional instrumentation of mandolin, fiddle, tin whistle and banjo with amphetamine fueled guitar, bass and drums, the Tossers play with a furious edge that teeters between rage and raucousness.

With over 15 years of the music grind behind them, the Tossers are a staple in the Celtic Punk and Folk scenes. Currently the band has five full length albums, the newest of which is "Agony" their second release on Victory Records.

While their live shows are fueled with a little bit of blood and sweat and a whole lot of whiskey and beer, their albums are dedicated to musical elegance and provocation. Possessing the ability to masterfully employ stark tempo changes from the brink of the insane to the solemness of an Irish ballad, the Tossers are an act that does not disappoint in print or in person.

Never afraid to take on new challenges at any venue for any audience the Tossers have had an eclectic past playing with acts such as the legendary Pogues, Spider Stacy (solo), the Popes, the Dropkick Murphy's, Stiff Little Fingers, Black 47 and Flogging Molly. In addition to this Irish menagerie they've also toured with hardcore favorites like Clutch and Murphy's Law; rockabilly icons Reverend Horton Heat and the Horror Pops; SKA classics like the Pie Tasters, Reel Big Fish and Catch 22; and moody rock n' rollers Murder By Death. The list goes on, as does the band.

"The Tossers are slowly getting their props as an American treasure. Too often lumped into the Celtic-rock scene as just another Pogues or Flogging Molly ripoff, actually they have been around for over 12 years, and are only now getting the press they deserve. Singer/Mandolin player Tony Dugginss songwriting has improved with each record (and on his intense solo release last year) and the songs here are some of the best in their canon. Perhaps because a lot of these tunes were played live for months before recording, the band is tight and raw, each member contributing to the tunes with subtle touches that could only have come from having lived with the songs for awhile. Ballads of love lost and shame encountered; stomping punk jigs that celebrate fall-down drunkenness as an act of glory; from the South Side of Chicago, The Tossers reach to the gutters and churches of Dublin and back again with another classic. Love them now, then have some whiskey and love them forever."

Mike Wood

01. Never Enough
02. Pub and Culture
03. Shade
04. Did it All For You
05. The Sheep in the Boots
06. Not Forgotten
07. Siobhan
08. Traps and Ultimatums
09. Leopardstown Races
10. Claddagh
11. Where Ya Been Johhny?
12. Not Alone
13. Political Scum
14. Romany
15. Movin' On
16. The Nut House
17. Be

Mike Pawula: Guitar
T. Duggins: Voice/Mandolin
Aaron Duggins: Tin Whistle
Danny Shaw: Bass/Backing Vocals
Bones: Drums
Rebecca: Violin
Clay: Banjo

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Mihály DRESCH is a Hungarian saxophone player who mixes the American free-jazz tradition with elements of traditional Hungarian folk music.
The album of the acknowledged jazz saxophonist and composer, influenced by Hungarian folk music and Indian music.

1. Ködöllik a Mátra
2. Ritka madár
3. Naív
4. Le az utcán
5. Prana

Mihály DRESCH - tenor and soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute, vocals
Miklós LUKÁCS - cimbalom
Mátyás SZANDAI - double bass
István BALÓ - drums

Featuring:
Sándor CSÓRI "Sündi" - viola
Félix LAJKÓ - violin
Antal BRASNYÓ - viola
Péter SZALAI - tabla

Link

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"Germany and Russia haven't had a history of amicable relationships through the years. The twentieth century was a particularly bad time, as each took turns in occupying the other for extended periods. However, this hasn't stopped Russian musicians being welcomed when they've gone searching for greener pastures in the West as they look to make a living from their craft. Which explains how the Russian group Ersatzmusika comes to be based out of Berlin Germany and is about to release their second CD, Songs Unrecatable, on the German label Asphalt-Tango.

If you download one of the first things you'll notice is the lyrics are in English, and that's not because they've been translated, it's because almost all the songs on Songs Unrecantable are sung in that language. Although to be honest lead singer Doubrovskaja's accent is so thick that if you're only listening casually chances are you're going to assume she's singing in Russian. To be fair, it's not just her accent, the music the band plays is so different from what most of us are used to hearing when it comes to Eastern European folk, the combination of the two makes for a sound so alien to our ears you can be easily forgiven for not noticing she is singing in English.

Before anyone starts jumping to any conclusions about brooding Russians or anything equally stupid, by mood I'm referring to the fact that Doubrovskaja sounds likes a Russian accented Marlene Dietrich. Yet while both she and Dietrich evoke smoke filled cabarets with dim lights, musically, lyrically the two women are miles apart. For while the former's stock in trade was sultry love songs, the latter's lyrics drip irony onto music that tastes of a little bit of everything from Balkan beat box to traditional folk sounds. There's actually something eerily familiar about Ersatzmusika's overall sound that escaped me for the longest time, until it struck me how much they reminded me of The Doors in their slower and more pensive moments.

While they might share certain characteristics with other performers and have drawn upon various styles, it's doubtful you've ever heard anything quite like Ersatzmuzika before.

Where one has come to expect a lively sound inspired by polka's, the heady influence of gypsy violins, or other rural traditions, you find moody, atmospheric sounds which are a far more accurate reflection of life today. The lyrics in turn are a match for this sound as they offer commentary on humanity's checkered history and uncertain future.
The opening lines of "Gypsy Air", the first track on the CD, give you a good idea of the band's appraisal of our past: "Woe filled times we must abide / woe betide him who knows not this...Let us compile a list/Of the wrongs that man commits / Never shying ignominy / Clipped the wings, ducked the tail/Little boy, Nagasaki."

However it's not only the past they are concerned with as they capture the true price of the greed and materialism that plagues today a little later in the same song with the following lines, "That tenderness' needs must contrast / With tender, its negation."
I don't think I've heard a condemnation of a system that puts selling above caring phrased so succinctly and directly before. Now, lest you think they're only a one note band, they also show themselves capable of being darkly humorous. "Oh Pterodactyl", track seven, is a darkly delightful examination of our genealogy. "There has of late been much debate / Bout what is round and what is straight / And why no politician / Could have a forebear simian / But oh pterodactyl / To you we owe a / Oh pterodactyl / A debt of honour / Oh pterodactyl / Although that Noah / Oh pterodactyl / Wants to disown ya."

t's hard to describe the experience of listening to Songs Unrecantable by Ersatzmusika simply because there's not much else like them around to offer up as a comparison. Their accents mark them as Eastern European, and there are elements of their music that reflect that heritage, but not in the way we've grown accustomed to hearing them as presented by world music labels. This is an edgier, more contemporary, and urban sound which, while it doesn't discount its heritage, uses it as its springboard to something new instead of just recreating what's been done before. It's only fitting though considering their song's lyrics, which are not only predominately in English to allow for more universal comprehension, are also far more relevant to today's world than what we're used to.

Recently we've seen how young musicians from backgrounds as diverse as Balkan and Roma have begun to make their sound more contemporary while maintaining a connection to their traditional music. Ersatzmuzika is on the leading edge of the movement intent on proving anything old can be new again and in the process are creating some great music."

Richard Marcus

01. Songs on a Gypsy Air
02. Wild Grass
03. Train-slow Adagio
04. It's the Russian Beat
05. Berceuse
06. Tver (feat. Unterwasser)
07. Pterodactyl
08. HMS RIP DTs
09. Winter
10. Unredeemed
11. Letter from Baltimore (feat. Unterwasser)
12. Antediluvian
13. Incantation vs. Causation

Leonid Soybelman - guitar
Ruslan Kalugin - guitar
Phil Freeborn - guitar
Konstantin Orlov - bass
Michail Zhukov - drums, percussion
Irina Doubrovskja - vocals, accordion, piano, keyboards
Thomas Cooper - vocals

Link

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"Once known as "the only country band" on Flying Nun (Trail of Tears in 90, their sole album for the label), this ongoing project of Brian and Maryrose Crook has progressively taken a darker and deeper path the past decade.

These 10 songs owe debts to old murder ballads, the Velvet Underground and the Doors, acoustic Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt and Marianne Faithfull.

With eerily plucked banjo (the haunting, southern gothic of A Little to the Left), a dense guitar drone and unsettling organ (A Forest of Forests), stalking bass and disturbing electronics (the soundscape of Sargasso Sea), and vocals from down a dark hall (Harvesting the Sea), this can be as creepy as it is cathartic.
They also carve out driving rock (Fu Man Chu, Deep Deep Sea, Feels Like Fun which sounds like 1976 Dylan fronting the Meat Puppets) but mostly this comes out from the shadows.

Better known in the US, where they recently toured, than they are back home, the Renderers occupy rock-noir territory similar to Nick Cave's. But when Maryrose takes the vocals there is an even more unnerving juxtaposition between her singing and the menacing lyrics and music.
Sort of Nancy 'n' Lee with the spirit of early Lou Reed as a ghostly presence.
Not for everyone, but far too good to be embraced abroad and left to languish in their homeland."

01.Deep Hole
02.A Little to the Left
03.A Forest of Forests
04.Fu Manchu
05.Sargasso Sea
06 Five Good Hours
07.Deep Deep Sea
08.Feels Like Fun
09.Harvesting The Sea
10.Supernova

Bass - John Billows
Drums - Michael Daly
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals - Brian Crook
Guitar, Vocals - Maryrose Crook

Link

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Music, for a play but complete enough on its own, telling the life story of fictional Provençal character Maurin, by Provençal sax/flute player Montanaro using classical, renaissance and various traditional European influences, featuring a Slovak Chamber Orchestra and, somewhat dinner-jacketed in this context, Hungarian bands Vujicsics and Ghymes.

Miqueu Montanaro plays many instruments: alto saxophone, accordion, varoius flutes and others curiosities. The instrument speaks the language Montanaro taught it : jazz, music from east of Europe and improvised music.

01. Maurin des Maures
02. Mauresca
03. Parlo sourlet
04. Lei bofets
05. Lo fuoc
06. Bomians e Carboniers
07. Lei - Chivaus Frus -
08. Les gendarmes
09. Scotisch de l'auberge
10. La sirene et le faune
11. Romance
12. Maurin des Maures (Reprise)
13. Lo Manteu de Sant Martin
14. Dins l'auberga
15. La bravade
16. Fanfarnette
17. Mauresca
18. La chanson de Maurin
19. La mort de Maurin

Miquéu Montanaro : flutes, saxophone, galoubet-tambourin, accordion

Vujicsics Ensemble:
Eredics Gábor - accordéon, tambura, percussion,
Eredics Kálmán - contrabasse, derbouka
Brczán Miroszláv - cello tambura,
Szendrődi Ferenc - bratsch, tambura
Győri Károly : tambura solo,
Borbély Mihály - clarinette, saxo soprano

Ghymes:
Szarka Tamás - violon, koboz,
Szarka Gyula - contrebasse
Behr László - cymbalum, percussion,
Nagy Mihály - clarinette, tambour
Buják Andor - clarinette, bratsch (alto)

Link

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Big thanks Frankie for the CD!

Bulgarian folk music contains a special mixture of the musical traditions of Europe and Asia. In the folk music of Bulgarian Illyrian, Greek, Byzantie, Turkish, and Thracian element can be found. The balkan is a bridge between Europe and Asia, thus it is normal that both cultures had and still have had their effects on it.

The 500 years Turkish rule over Bulgarian inspired and stimulated the folk music in the country. Music, singing and dancing were the way of expression and th artistic connection among people in those hard days. All of them had their important role in the everyday life.
Some of the songs were sung on religous feasts, social events, while others helped the monotonous work in the fields and in the spining room. There were also dance tunes, for which people could dance for even an hour. The "table song" were sung at convival evenings, engagements and christening feasts - a good singer was always a welcome guests at these events. Charasteristic music instruments are: goatskin bagpipe, kaval, tambura, duduk, gadulka (violin from the balkan), zuma (Turkish flute), tapan (double-bottomed drum) and tarambuka (side drum).

On album we would like to illustrate a part of the folk music from the Balkan featuring mostly the part-songs of South-West Bulgaria.

01. Ogrejala Meszecsinka - Feljött a Hold
02. Peter i Penka - Péter és Penka
03. Podje Jane - Elment Jane
04. Pcselice - Méhecske
05. Sznosti e Dobra - Este Dobra...
06. Taja Gora Bogdanova - Bogdán erdejében
07. Zalibi Szi Edno Libe - Szerelmes vagyok
08. Prela Baba Tri Godini - Három évig...
09. A Bre Babo - Jaj jóasszony
10. Gine Gine - Ej Gine
11. Sto e Ogrejela - Feljött a hold
12. Veter Pro - Nagy vihar
13. Georgina
14. Tragal Mi Jane - Elindul Jane
15. Szadila Moma - A lányka
16. Jermelija
17. Szokol - Sólyom
18. Raszti Bore - Nőjj fenyőfa
19. Odesi Moma Pavlina - Megy Pavlina

Bognár Szilvia - vocal
Farkas Tünde - vocal
Izsák Katalin - vocal
Szluka Judit - vocal

Búzás Attila - tambura
Németh György - kaval, bagpipe
Orczy Géza - tambura, tapan, darabuka

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The band was formed of young people living in Szabolcs-Szatmár county and Budapest in 1989. The members of Ternipe are native gipsy young people who strive to make their folk music and folk songs become widely known. It was necessary for them to establish such band in order to popularize the authentic gipsy culture and overcome prejudice with fostering their mothertongue and rich culture. Their aim was to keep traditional communal and regional values. Their ambition now is to make people recognize the existing gipsy folk tradition including songs and instrumental folk muisc. The band’s sound system is unique since the fifth and thirds brings such interpretation of music that you can only meet in Far-Eastern or Balkan culture.

Ternipe can be characterized by songs in gipsy language, among the instruments they prefer accordion, violin, double bass, viola and instrument imitating things like the so-called ’rolling’ and ’mouth bass’, as well as the usage of cans or spoons to replace instruments. At the beginning, the band gave shows in camps, youth clubs and arts centres, then they got several foreign invitation as well. Gradually, they became popular.

01. Haj de Romania
02. Dukhal muro jilo
03. Tula
04. Na gindyin muri gazsi
05. Adyes me pijav
06. Suno san tu
07. Csak te kellesz nekem
08. Numa tusa
09. O barvalo shavo
10. Sikav lasho drom
11. Kalyi shej
12. Avri phenav e lumake
13. Ma este en mulatok
14. Sostar pusaves tut

Balogh Mária - Song
Balogh Tünde - Song
Farkas István - Song, Guitar, mandolin
Sztojka László - Doublebass
Lakatos Gyula - Keyboards
Lakatos Béla – Kettle
Bihari Zsolt - Guitar, Song

Link

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VeDaKi (Vershki Da Koreshki) is a meeting of different cultures, rhythms, languages, energies, forces of the world (Africa, India, Russia, Tuva, Europe), and joining them together in search of natural understanding and communication, link between traditional and modern, roots and improvisation (not without humour and hope).
It was planted as an experiment; it stayed alive; it keeps giving its fruits.

"Any improvisation comes from tradition
Any tradition implies improvisation
Any living specie takes their form
Any living specie contains them both
All living species share them "

01.Xame Nge - Golubka
02.Samm - Mak
03.Mariama
04.Zalivochka - Buleen nu Tanqal
05.Djougal
06.Mlada - Faleme
07.Papa Ndiaye
08.Adunna - Kak u nas
09.Jot na - Posledny Denechek [Last Day]
10.Zaglyanet li solnce - Dundu ak Dee
11.Djibanee

Accordion, Piano [Acoustic Piano], Jew's Harp, Flute [Reed Flutes],Talking Drum - Alexei Levin
Double Bass - Vladimir Volkov
Vocals, Xalam, Instruments [M'bira, Kongoma, Calebasse], Talking Drum, Horn [Cow Horn], Flute - Mola Sylla
Vocals, Zither, Flute - Sergey Starostin

Link

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"Well, it had to happen sooner or later. It was only a matter of time before the world would experience its first Japanese klezmer big band, and what a joy it is. Saxophonist Kazutoki Umezu, in some ways the John Zorn of Japanese avant-garde jazz (he's worked with many of the downtown New York crowd), assembled Betsuni Nanmo Klezmer, a 19-piece ensemble, and delivered Ahiru, a joyous explosion of klezmer tunes as seen from afar. "Odessa Bulgarish," a ripsnorting dance number, leads off the disc, a wonderful basis for strong solos and extremely tight arrangements. The next two pieces are both fantastic in and of themselves and display awesome chutzpah: "Tum Balalayke" and "Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn." The sheer nerve in trotting out these warhorses, replete with Yiddish and English vocals, would be enough to make one bow one's head in admiration, but Umezu pulls them off with such aplomb, good humor, and imagination that the listener just shakes his head in amazement. The compositions combine a solid conviction in the music with freewheeling imagination in such a way that a klezmer fan presented with them in a blindfold test would arguably be very hard-pressed to identify them as being of Asian origin. Ahiru is a very fine argument for the idea of klezmer music being transcendent over national and cultural boundaries. When they close with "Dos Geshrey Fun der Vilder Katshke," a ridiculously fantastic arrangement of Mickey Katz' parodied Western song "The Cry of the Wild Goose," one has -- almost -- become inured to the shock, the gall. Then one collapses into helpless, overjoyed laughter. An amazing album."

Brian Olewnick, All Music Guide

01. Odessa Bulgarish (traditional)
02. Tum Balalayke (traditional)
03. Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn
04. Kandel's Hora (traditional)
05. A Nakht in Gan Eydn
06. Dos Geshrey Fun der Vilder Katshke

Kazutoki Umezu: clarinet, bass clarinet (4), alto saxophone (3, 6)
Wataru Okuma: clarinet, bass clarinet (3, 4)
Kazuhiro Nomoto: baritone saxophone bass clarinet (4)
Kanji Nakao: soprano saxophone
Takero Sekijima: tuba, alto horn (4)
Hiroshi Itaya: trombone
Yoko Tada: alto saxophone
Ayumi Matsui: violin
Yuriko Mukojima: violin
Hidehiko Urayama: banjo
Chan Koyo: accordion
Jyoji Sawada: double bass
Yasuhiko Tachibana: double bass
Yasuo Sano: kit drums
Yasuhiro Yoshigaki: kit drums
Sachiko Nagata: marimba, percussion
Yoko Ishizaki: marimba, percussion
Koichi Makigami: vocal
Nammy Tokyo: vocal

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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)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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