In Memoriam: Karen Guggenheim

By

Karen Guggenheim

(1952-2019)

 

Karen Guggenheim passed away on April 20 at her home in Sebastopol, Calif. She is survived by her daughter, Kalina Machlis.

Karen started playing gajda at the very first Balkan Music & Dance Workshop with Mark Levy in 1974. In 1983 she went to Bulgaria to continue her studies with the gajda masters Kostadin Varimezov and Encho Pashov. She taught beginning gajda at numerous Balkan Music & Dance Workshops in the 1980s and ‘90s, as well as at other West Coast music camps. She also performed with the Balkan band Medna Usta.

Karen accompanies an 8-year-old Eva Salina.

“This [at right] is a picture of me at 8 years old, singing Две си моме, море, живовале [Dve si mome, more, živovale] with Karen Gwen Guggenheim at a gathering in Santa Cruz,” wrote Eva Salina on Facebook. “I am at a loss for words to adequately express how her generosity, warmth, and friendship altered the course of my life and that of my family, almost 30 years ago. By bringing us into the fold of Balkan music and dance enthusiasts in Santa Cruz, and by sharing so much of her world with me, I found love and community that set me on the road I’m still following and making.

“It is hard for me to imagine I won’t see her again in this lifetime. I know she struggled with chronic health issues for almost two decades, and I hope she is at peace, and free from pain. Perhaps her beloved friend and mentor Vassil will be there to welcome her to the realm beyond, serenading her on gajda as only he can. Rest in peace, Dear Karen. You will be truly missed.”

In Memoriam

By

Vlad and Tinka in memoriam

In this issue we honor two giants in our community and beyond who died since our last issue: Vlad Popovich, tambura player and teacher, and Dinka Ruseva, singer, teacher and Bulgarian folk celebrity.

Vlad Popovich

By Kef Times Staff, Fall 2018
vlad playin the tambura

Vlad playing the tambura

(1931-2017)

Tamburica player and teacher Vlad Popovich died on April 17, 2017.  A great American carrier of the tamburica tradition, he had taught numerous times at the EEFC Balkan Music and Dance Workshops, starting at Buffalo Gap in 1992, the last time at both camps in 1997. He also served on the EEFC board of directors from 1994-95.

Walter "Vlad" Popovich, was born August 8, 1931, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. While attending Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa., he was a member of the Duquesne Tamburitzans, with whom he had the opportunity to tour the U.S. and perform twice in Yugoslavia. Later he played with the Balkan Serenaders of Lackawanna, N.Y., a group that played extensively for Serbian/Croatian community groups. He had experience with all the tamburica instruments but primarily played brač or čelo. Vlad was inducted into the Tamburitza Hall of Fame in 1993.

In his non-musical life, he earned a business degree from Duquesne University; served in the U.S. Army and the Army Reserve, retiring at the rank of full colonel; and retired as a project manager in the Linde Division of Union Carbide (now Praxair) after working for the company for 32 years.

He and his wife Evelyn, a fellow Tamburitzan (she played the prim), who died in 2014, had two sons, Steven and Peter.

Vlad with Jeanne Busch

Vlad with Jeanne Busch

“I remember him from my early years at Buffalo Gap, when I made weak attempts to play the brač in the tamburica ensemble with Vlad, Charlie Smilinich and Danilo Yanich,” wrote Rachel MacFarlane to the EEFC listserv. “Vlad was kind and gentlemanly, but he was also wicked funny in a subtle and mischievous way.

“Vlad, Danilo, and Ray Ranic taught at Mendocino in 1997, the first year Esma Redžepova and her band came to our camps,” Rachel said. “I recall a golden evening there in the kafana, when the master tamburaši were treating all of us to their music, and there were Esma’s guys musicians , listening intently and rapturously. Seriously beautiful stuff. And who can forget that year’s auction—when Vlad et al. ‘won’ an auction spa treatment—to a fancy manicure that resulted in watermelon paintings on their nails that they proudly wore for the rest of the week.”

Vlad With his head in a tuba

Vlad with his head in a tuba

On the listserv, Emerson Hawley added this memory: "Vlad's enthusiastic descriptions of the lamb spits they had at the Serbian Club in N. Tonawanda: Multiple spits stacked up in some kind of smoky enclosure; garlic to the max. All day roasting with plenty of šljivovica. Vlad and Charlie: stalwarts of soaking bread in the lamb drippings, popping garlic cloves. Not to mention tamburica.  Vlad loved playing the čelo; that part swings.  Having me as a brač pupil. . . private tutorials. . .you know the guy was patient.  My favorite picture of Vlad, taken by Margaret Loomis, is with his head deep inside the bell of my tuba."

Here is a link to Vlad’s official obituary  as well as to his article in Tamburitza Hall of Fame.

Dinka Ruseva

By Kef Times Staff, Fall 2018
Dinka Ruseva

Dinka Ruseva

(1948–2018)

Beloved Bulgarian Thracian singer Dinka Ruseva, who taught at both the Mendocino and East Coast EEFC workshops in 1991, passed away on February 28, 2018, at the age of 70.

Born on February 16, 1948, in the village of Pet Mogili, Sliven, Dinka Ruseva sang extensively for weddings, baptisms, fairs and festivals. She was particularly noted for her highly ornamented and achingly beautiful slow songs, a number of which can be seen on YouTube. She and her husband Georgi lived in the town of Radnevo, in Stara Zagora province, and had two sons, Dragia and Radi, both musicians.

“Dinka shared her beautiful singing and songs and her generous, warm, and spirited personality with the EEFC community,” wrote Carol Freeman to the EEFC listserv after she heard the news. “She also taught workshops in different cities around the country. Dinka was revered in Bulgaria, but was as down to earth a person as they come. She had an exceptionally beautiful repertoire which she performed with masterful technique and enormous heart. We will miss her deeply, and forever treasure her music.”

"The younger folks in our community may not realize how special it was back in 1991 to have a complete Bulgarian band, [Bulgari], of which Dinka was a member, come to camp,” wrote Rachel MacFarlane to the EEFC listserv. “We were all emerging from the Cold War and had had extremely limited access to the artists from the countries whose music and dance we loved so much."

Dinka Ruseva

Dinka Ruseva

Here are some videos of Dinka Ruseva performing:

"Седнах да вечерям"

"От долу иде кервана"

"Индже из гора ходеше"

And a short memorial video (in Bulgarian)

Vlad Popovich

By

vlad playin the tambura

Vlad playing the tambura

(1931-2017)

Tamburica player and teacher Vlad Popovich died on April 17, 2017.  A great American carrier of the tamburica tradition, he had taught numerous times at the EEFC Balkan Music and Dance Workshops, starting at Buffalo Gap in 1992, the last time at both camps in 1997. He also served on the EEFC board of directors from 1994-95.

Walter “Vlad” Popovich, was born August 8, 1931, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. While attending Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pa., he was a member of the Duquesne Tamburitzans, with whom he had the opportunity to tour the U.S. and perform twice in Yugoslavia. Later he played with the Balkan Serenaders of Lackawanna, N.Y., a group that played extensively for Serbian/Croatian community groups. He had experience with all the tamburica instruments but primarily played brač or čelo. Vlad was inducted into the Tamburitza Hall of Fame in 1993.

In his non-musical life, he earned a business degree from Duquesne University; served in the U.S. Army and the Army Reserve, retiring at the rank of full colonel; and retired as a project manager in the Linde Division of Union Carbide (now Praxair) after working for the company for 32 years.

He and his wife Evelyn, a fellow Tamburitzan (she played the prim), who died in 2014, had two sons, Steven and Peter.

Vlad with Jeanne Busch

Vlad with Jeanne Busch

“I remember him from my early years at Buffalo Gap, when I made weak attempts to play the brač in the tamburica ensemble with Vlad, Charlie Smilinich and Danilo Yanich,” wrote Rachel MacFarlane to the EEFC listserv. “Vlad was kind and gentlemanly, but he was also wicked funny in a subtle and mischievous way.

“Vlad, Danilo, and Ray Ranic taught at Mendocino in 1997, the first year Esma Redžepova and her band came to our camps,” Rachel said. “I recall a golden evening there in the kafana, when the master tamburaši were treating all of us to their music, and there were Esma’s guys musicians , listening intently and rapturously. Seriously beautiful stuff. And who can forget that year’s auction—when Vlad et al. ‘won’ an auction spa treatment—to a fancy manicure that resulted in watermelon paintings on their nails that they proudly wore for the rest of the week.”

Vlad With his head in a tuba

Vlad with his head in a tuba

On the listserv, Emerson Hawley added this memory: “Vlad’s enthusiastic descriptions of the lamb spits they had at the Serbian Club in N. Tonawanda: Multiple spits stacked up in some kind of smoky enclosure; garlic to the max. All day roasting with plenty of šljivovica. Vlad and Charlie: stalwarts of soaking bread in the lamb drippings, popping garlic cloves. Not to mention tamburica.  Vlad loved playing the čelo; that part swings.  Having me as a brač pupil. . . private tutorials. . .you know the guy was patient.  My favorite picture of Vlad, taken by Margaret Loomis, is with his head deep inside the bell of my tuba.”

Here is a link to Vlad’s official obituary  as well as to his article in Tamburitza Hall of Fame.

Dinka Ruseva

By

Dinka Ruseva

Dinka Ruseva

(1948–2018)

Beloved Bulgarian Thracian singer Dinka Ruseva, who taught at both the Mendocino and East Coast EEFC workshops in 1991, passed away on February 28, 2018, at the age of 70.

Born on February 16, 1948, in the village of Pet Mogili, Sliven, Dinka Ruseva sang extensively for weddings, baptisms, fairs and festivals. She was particularly noted for her highly ornamented and achingly beautiful slow songs, a number of which can be seen on YouTube. She and her husband Georgi lived in the town of Radnevo, in Stara Zagora province, and had two sons, Dragia and Radi, both musicians.

“Dinka shared her beautiful singing and songs and her generous, warm, and spirited personality with the EEFC community,” wrote Carol Freeman to the EEFC listserv after she heard the news. “She also taught workshops in different cities around the country. Dinka was revered in Bulgaria, but was as down to earth a person as they come. She had an exceptionally beautiful repertoire which she performed with masterful technique and enormous heart. We will miss her deeply, and forever treasure her music.”

“The younger folks in our community may not realize how special it was back in 1991 to have a complete Bulgarian band, [Bulgari], of which Dinka was a member, come to camp,” wrote Rachel MacFarlane to the EEFC listserv. “We were all emerging from the Cold War and had had extremely limited access to the artists from the countries whose music and dance we loved so much.”

Dinka Ruseva

Dinka Ruseva

Here are some videos of Dinka Ruseva performing:

“Седнах да вечерям”

“От долу иде кервана”

“Индже из гора ходеше”

And a short memorial video (in Bulgarian)

Esma Redžepova

By

(1943-2016)

Esma Redžepova. Ramblewood, 1997. (photo: Margaret Loomis)


Esma Redžepova performed for over 50 years to enthusiastic audiences in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia. Hailed by NPR as one of the world’s “50 Great Voices” and crowned “The Queen of Romani Music” at the World Romani Congress in India in 1976, Esma was perhaps the most famous Romani singer in the world and gave thousands of concerts, many of them for humanitarian causes. Her ensemble played in plazas, stadiums, and opera houses, for villagers as well as world leaders. Esma was the first Romani musician in Yugoslavia to concertize and record for mass audiences in the Romani language, and she was the first Macedonian woman to perform on television. She produced over 500 songs on dozens of records, several of which achieved “gold” status in the Former Yugoslavia; releases include Songs of A Macedonian Gypsy (Monitor), Čhaje Shukarije (World Connection), and Gypsy Carpet (World Network).

Born in Skopje, Esma was one of six children in a poor Muslim family; her father lost a leg in World War II and subsequently shined shoes. At the age of eleven she met Stevo Teodosievski, an ethnic Macedonian accordionist and arranger who recognized her talents and secured permission from her parents to train her as recording artist (not a cafe singer, which would be considered shameful). By the age of thirteen, Esma had become a star with her trademark song “Čhaje Šukarije” (beautiful Romani girl). Esma and Ensemble Teodosievski moved from Macedonia to Serbia in 1961 to cultivate wider opportunities and escape prejudice against Roma in the music industry.

Teodosievski’s vision and Esma’s abilities created the perfect combination of Romani exoticism and refinement. Stevo and Esma composed songs which they transformed into staged choreographies incorporating dance, costume and dramatic scenarios showcasing the stunning emotional range and dramatic potential of Esma’s voice. The couple married in 1968 (one of the first “mixed marriages” in Macedonia) and were inseparable musical partners until Stevo’s death in 1997. Her career continued with her children. Stevo and Esma turned their home into a school of music that served as a training ground for 47 children (many from poor homes) whom they adopted.

Esma and her band performing at Camp Ramblewood, 1997. (photo: Margaret Loomis)

Throughout the years the Ensemble embraced an eclectic internationalism: music from various regions of Yugoslavia became part of their repertoire as well as from neighboring Balkan countries and beyond. Singing in over fifteen languages, including all of the Balkan and East European languages, plus Hebrew, German and Hindi, Esma embodied the versatility, innovation, and cosmopolitanism of Romani artists. Esma’s songs, sometimes based on true-life incidents, chronicle the joys and sorrows of love, such as in arranged marriages, the poverty of Roma, and the pain of separation, such as that resulting from Balkan men going abroad to work.

 

Esma and students at the student concert, Ramblewood. This was only a part of her very large class, 1998. (photo: Margaret Loomis)

Esma was a major contributor to countless advocacy and assistance programs for women and underserved populations, including the disabled and refugees. She was honorary president of the Macedonian Red Cross; in 2000, the Sorority of Roma Women proclaimed Esma “Woman of the Millennium.” In 2002 Esma was nominated as United Nations Ambassador for Refugees in Macedonia, and she was nominated a second time for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2010, she was awarded the Macedonian Order of Merit, and in 2013 she was proclaimed a National Artist of Macedonia. She hoped to open a “Home of Humanity and Museum of Romani Music” in her home; plans included an archive, a recording studio and an outpatient clinic for the underserved.

Esma and several of her adopted sons taught at both the West and East Coast EEFC workshops in 1997 and 1998. Her last tour to the United States was in spring 2016, sponsored by Voice of Roma and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance. Her son, arranger/composer Simeon Atanasov, plans to continue her legacy with Esma’s only female protégée, Eleonora Mustafovska.

Editor’s Note: Besides being a master of Romani music and a great humanitarian, Esma Redžepova was a remarkable, larger-than-life woman with a strong will, a wonderful sense of humor and a gift for embracing the moment.

Esma dances with Petrana Kucheva at Ramblewood, 1997; Rachel MacFarlane and Merita Halili can also be seen. (photo: Margaret Loomis)

For each the two years she attended Balkan camp, folks from the EEFC community set up appearances in cities from coast to coast. I produced the concerts in Denver and had the honor of hosting Esma and some of her band in my home. She merrily joined me in the kitchen, wanting to do all the cooking for her “boys,” certain that if she asked for an ingredient in enough different languages, sooner or later I’d know what she meant. Despite being an international superstar, she prepared a huge turli tava (vegetable and meat stew) for our party, then delighted us all (and our neighbors) by singing and dancing with us on the front porch.

I remember the enthusiasm she brought to teaching her classes at camp and the fact that she sat in on classes taught by other teachers, wearing her straw hat and brimming over with pleasure that so many Americans were studying Balkan music and dancing. I remember a night when her kafana performance with her band shook the room with ecstasy.

It pleases me to think that Balkan camp brought so much pleasure to one who brought the world so much pleasure and meaning.

Julie Lancaster

Stories about Esma appear in several past Kef Times issues:

Spring/Summer 1997
EEFC Sponsors “Queen of Romani Music”—Carol Silverman
(This issue also includes a tribute to Stevo Teodosievski)
https://keftimes.org/kef-times/springsummer-1997/

Fall/Winter 1997
Traveling with Esma—Michael Ginsburg
(The tale of Esma and company’s first teaching appearance at Balkan camp and the logistics challenges that posed; plus Esma and the Esma Plum Tree photo)
https://keftimes.org/kef-times/fallwinter-1997/

Spring/Summer 1998
The Balkans Return to Camp—Michael Ginsburg
https://keftimes.org/kef-times/springsummer-1998/

Fall/Winter 1998
Ajde Na Poi Balls!—Alina Niemi
https://keftimes.org/kef-times/fallwinter-1998/

 

 

In Memoriam

By

In this issue we honor two giants in our community and beyond who died in 2016: Vassil Bebelekov, gajda player and teacher, and Esma Redžepova, singer, teacher and humanitarian.

Vassil Bebelekov

By Craig Kurumada, Spring 2017
Last photo of Vassil Bebelekov, taken at Lark in the Morning Camp, 2016. Photo provided by Craig Kurumada.

Last photo of Vassil Bebelekov, taken at Lark in the Morning Camp, 2016. Photo provided by Craig Kurumada.

(1960-2016)

Through the pain of losing him, I have to admit, he couldn’t have chosen a better place to leave this earth. He went in his sleep, in the heart of a beautiful redwood forest, doing what he loved, surrounded by people he loved and who loved him.

I count myself as the luckiest of students, because I could see Vassil Bebelekov many times a year. Not that it guaranteed my bagpipe playing would improve, but as I remember our friendship, I realize the many rungs of the long ladder to becoming a better musician, a better gajdar.

I remember my first meeting Vassil as a bit of comic chaos. Twenty-odd years ago, Bulgarian dance teacher Petur Iliev was due to arrive at the Arcata Festival any minute. The opening concert, a mix of bands and short dance performances, timed to the minute, was about to begin. Petur appeared at the door, saying he had a guest who was a great gajda player. Could he, maybe, play for the concert? I remember Linnea Mandell corralling all the performers for the concert, asking them if they could shave off a minute or two, just to squeeze in 10 or so minutes for this real Bulgarian bagpiper to play. Room in the schedule was made (with a little grumbling), but Vassil became a part of the Arcata Festival for every year thereafter.

photo: EEFC

photo: EEFC

Vassil would also become a mainstay of Balkan camp, teaching Thracian gajda, bitov ensemble and, of course, the Rhodope gajda.
In the Balkan camp environment, it’s easy to see only one dimension of someone. Vassil was a musical virtuoso and teacher. But he had many more layers to his life.

As you might imagine, gajda students are always looking at the teacher’s fingers. I remember first noticing his Masonic ring. His eyes glinted as he smiled that particularly impish smile of his. He liked hobnobbing and being a mover and shaker. Vassil also loved wordplay and puns. His use of “Nice driveway!” as the anglicized “na zdrave” whenever a glass was raised, was carved into a flask given to him by his music students at UCLA.

And, he loved to cook.

For many years, at festivals such as Kolo Festival in San Francisco and our own Arcata Festival, Vassil would exchange his gajda for an apron to make mouthwatering vinen kebab, moussaka, baklava and other specialties.

But, of course, his deepest passion was bringing music to people. Years ago, he and his wife Maria were attending a party in Arcata. After I had introduced them as our teachers, Vassil told the crowd that, rather than students, he and Maria regarded us as his “colleagues.” My mouth hung open. I cannot recall ever feeling so flattered. Vassil loved teaching, considering his students to be more like family members.

Vassil and the author. Photo courtesy vasslbebelekov.memorial

Vassil and the author. Photo courtesy vassilbebelekov.memorial

With his passing, I’ve dedicated part of my life to helping get gajdi in the hands of those who want them. Along with colleagues of the “Gajda Mafia,” a joke name for his students who took up the kaba gajda, the low, deep bagpipe of his native Rhodope Mountains, I feel that continuing Vassil’s legacy of gajda creation, repair and spreading of this wonderful musical form is the best way to honor his memory.

I would like to give great credit to Bill Cope and Ivan Velev with setting up a wonderful memorial website. I also value all the support Bill gave to Maria and his daughter Didi in dealing with his estate as well as the inventory of his workshop, collecting the various instruments Vassil was repairing and returning them to their owners.

I will be reminded of Vassil with every Bulgarian tune I hear or when I pick up my gajda, especially among fellow musicians who share these memories. Every year, following the class, each crammed with quick lessons in ornaments, hastily corrected sheet music, a plague of tuning issues, but finally a well-performed piece, he would look up, beaming, and say, “Wow! The best bitov in the world!”

And he was right, every time.

Maria and Vassil Bebelekov. (photo: EEFC)

Maria and Vassil Bebelekov. (photo: EEFC)

Vassil passed away on July 31, 2016 at Lark in the Morning Music Camp in the Mendocino Woodlands. He is survived by his widow, Maria, and daughter, Kostadinka (Didi). He was preceded in death by his son, Jivko, in 2005.

Photos, videos, comments and memories are available at https://vassilbebelekov.memorial.

Esma Redžepova

By Carol Silverman, Spring 2017

(1943-2016)

Esma Redžepova. Ramblewood, 1997. (photo: Margaret Loomis)

Esma Redžepova performed for over 50 years to enthusiastic audiences in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia. Hailed by NPR as one of the world’s “50 Great Voices” and crowned "The Queen of Romani Music" at the World Romani Congress in India in 1976, Esma was perhaps the most famous Romani singer in the world and gave thousands of concerts, many of them for humanitarian causes. Her ensemble played in plazas, stadiums, and opera houses, for villagers as well as world leaders. Esma was the first Romani musician in Yugoslavia to concertize and record for mass audiences in the Romani language, and she was the first Macedonian woman to perform on television. She produced over 500 songs on dozens of records, several of which achieved "gold" status in the Former Yugoslavia; releases include Songs of A Macedonian Gypsy (Monitor), Čhaje Shukarije (World Connection), and Gypsy Carpet (World Network).

Born in Skopje, Esma was one of six children in a poor Muslim family; her father lost a leg in World War II and subsequently shined shoes. At the age of eleven she met Stevo Teodosievski, an ethnic Macedonian accordionist and arranger who recognized her talents and secured permission from her parents to train her as recording artist (not a cafe singer, which would be considered shameful). By the age of thirteen, Esma had become a star with her trademark song "Čhaje Šukarije" (beautiful Romani girl). Esma and Ensemble Teodosievski moved from Macedonia to Serbia in 1961 to cultivate wider opportunities and escape prejudice against Roma in the music industry.

Teodosievski’s vision and Esma's abilities created the perfect combination of Romani exoticism and refinement. Stevo and Esma composed songs which they transformed into staged choreographies incorporating dance, costume and dramatic scenarios showcasing the stunning emotional range and dramatic potential of Esma's voice. The couple married in 1968 (one of the first "mixed marriages" in Macedonia) and were inseparable musical partners until Stevo's death in 1997. Her career continued with her children. Stevo and Esma turned their home into a school of music that served as a training ground for 47 children (many from poor homes) whom they adopted.

Esma and her band performing at Camp Ramblewood, 1997. (photo: Margaret Loomis)

Throughout the years the Ensemble embraced an eclectic internationalism: music from various regions of Yugoslavia became part of their repertoire as well as from neighboring Balkan countries and beyond. Singing in over fifteen languages, including all of the Balkan and East European languages, plus Hebrew, German and Hindi, Esma embodied the versatility, innovation, and cosmopolitanism of Romani artists. Esma's songs, sometimes based on true-life incidents, chronicle the joys and sorrows of love, such as in arranged marriages, the poverty of Roma, and the pain of separation, such as that resulting from Balkan men going abroad to work.

 

Esma and students at the student concert, Ramblewood. This was only a part of her very large class, 1998. (photo: Margaret Loomis)

Esma was a major contributor to countless advocacy and assistance programs for women and underserved populations, including the disabled and refugees. She was honorary president of the Macedonian Red Cross; in 2000, the Sorority of Roma Women proclaimed Esma "Woman of the Millennium.” In 2002 Esma was nominated as United Nations Ambassador for Refugees in Macedonia, and she was nominated a second time for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2010, she was awarded the Macedonian Order of Merit, and in 2013 she was proclaimed a National Artist of Macedonia. She hoped to open a "Home of Humanity and Museum of Romani Music" in her home; plans included an archive, a recording studio and an outpatient clinic for the underserved.

Esma and several of her adopted sons taught at both the West and East Coast EEFC workshops in 1997 and 1998. Her last tour to the United States was in spring 2016, sponsored by Voice of Roma and the Center for Traditional Music and Dance. Her son, arranger/composer Simeon Atanasov, plans to continue her legacy with Esma’s only female protégée, Eleonora Mustafovska.

Editor’s Note: Besides being a master of Romani music and a great humanitarian, Esma Redžepova was a remarkable, larger-than-life woman with a strong will, a wonderful sense of humor and a gift for embracing the moment.

Esma dances with Petrana Kucheva at Ramblewood, 1997; Rachel MacFarlane and Merita Halili can also be seen. (photo: Margaret Loomis)

For each the two years she attended Balkan camp, folks from the EEFC community set up appearances in cities from coast to coast. I produced the concerts in Denver and had the honor of hosting Esma and some of her band in my home. She merrily joined me in the kitchen, wanting to do all the cooking for her “boys,” certain that if she asked for an ingredient in enough different languages, sooner or later I’d know what she meant. Despite being an international superstar, she prepared a huge turli tava (vegetable and meat stew) for our party, then delighted us all (and our neighbors) by singing and dancing with us on the front porch.

I remember the enthusiasm she brought to teaching her classes at camp and the fact that she sat in on classes taught by other teachers, wearing her straw hat and brimming over with pleasure that so many Americans were studying Balkan music and dancing. I remember a night when her kafana performance with her band shook the room with ecstasy.

It pleases me to think that Balkan camp brought so much pleasure to one who brought the world so much pleasure and meaning.

Julie Lancaster

Stories about Esma appear in several past Kef Times issues:

Spring/Summer 1997
EEFC Sponsors “Queen of Romani Music”—Carol Silverman
(This issue also includes a tribute to Stevo Teodosievski)
https://keftimes.org/kef-times/springsummer-1997/

Fall/Winter 1997
Traveling with Esma—Michael Ginsburg
(The tale of Esma and company’s first teaching appearance at Balkan camp and the logistics challenges that posed; plus Esma and the Esma Plum Tree photo)
https://keftimes.org/kef-times/fallwinter-1997/

Spring/Summer 1998
The Balkans Return to Camp—Michael Ginsburg
https://keftimes.org/kef-times/springsummer-1998/

Fall/Winter 1998
Ajde Na Poi Balls!—Alina Niemi
https://keftimes.org/kef-times/fallwinter-1998/

 

 

Vassil Bebelekov

By

Last photo of Vassil Bebelekov, taken at Lark in the Morning Camp, 2016. Photo provided by Craig Kurumada.

Last photo of Vassil Bebelekov, taken at Lark in the Morning Camp, 2016. Photo provided by Craig Kurumada.

(1960-2016)

Through the pain of losing him, I have to admit, he couldn’t have chosen a better place to leave this earth. He went in his sleep, in the heart of a beautiful redwood forest, doing what he loved, surrounded by people he loved and who loved him.

I count myself as the luckiest of students, because I could see Vassil Bebelekov many times a year. Not that it guaranteed my bagpipe playing would improve, but as I remember our friendship, I realize the many rungs of the long ladder to becoming a better musician, a better gajdar.

I remember my first meeting Vassil as a bit of comic chaos. Twenty-odd years ago, Bulgarian dance teacher Petur Iliev was due to arrive at the Arcata Festival any minute. The opening concert, a mix of bands and short dance performances, timed to the minute, was about to begin. Petur appeared at the door, saying he had a guest who was a great gajda player. Could he, maybe, play for the concert? I remember Linnea Mandell corralling all the performers for the concert, asking them if they could shave off a minute or two, just to squeeze in 10 or so minutes for this real Bulgarian bagpiper to play. Room in the schedule was made (with a little grumbling), but Vassil became a part of the Arcata Festival for every year thereafter.

photo: EEFC

photo: EEFC

Vassil would also become a mainstay of Balkan camp, teaching Thracian gajda, bitov ensemble and, of course, the Rhodope gajda.
In the Balkan camp environment, it’s easy to see only one dimension of someone. Vassil was a musical virtuoso and teacher. But he had many more layers to his life.

As you might imagine, gajda students are always looking at the teacher’s fingers. I remember first noticing his Masonic ring. His eyes glinted as he smiled that particularly impish smile of his. He liked hobnobbing and being a mover and shaker. Vassil also loved wordplay and puns. His use of “Nice driveway!” as the anglicized “na zdrave” whenever a glass was raised, was carved into a flask given to him by his music students at UCLA.

And, he loved to cook.

For many years, at festivals such as Kolo Festival in San Francisco and our own Arcata Festival, Vassil would exchange his gajda for an apron to make mouthwatering vinen kebab, moussaka, baklava and other specialties.

But, of course, his deepest passion was bringing music to people. Years ago, he and his wife Maria were attending a party in Arcata. After I had introduced them as our teachers, Vassil told the crowd that, rather than students, he and Maria regarded us as his “colleagues.” My mouth hung open. I cannot recall ever feeling so flattered. Vassil loved teaching, considering his students to be more like family members.

Vassil and the author. Photo courtesy vasslbebelekov.memorial

Vassil and the author. Photo courtesy vassilbebelekov.memorial

With his passing, I’ve dedicated part of my life to helping get gajdi in the hands of those who want them. Along with colleagues of the “Gajda Mafia,” a joke name for his students who took up the kaba gajda, the low, deep bagpipe of his native Rhodope Mountains, I feel that continuing Vassil’s legacy of gajda creation, repair and spreading of this wonderful musical form is the best way to honor his memory.

I would like to give great credit to Bill Cope and Ivan Velev with setting up a wonderful memorial website. I also value all the support Bill gave to Maria and his daughter Didi in dealing with his estate as well as the inventory of his workshop, collecting the various instruments Vassil was repairing and returning them to their owners.

I will be reminded of Vassil with every Bulgarian tune I hear or when I pick up my gajda, especially among fellow musicians who share these memories. Every year, following the class, each crammed with quick lessons in ornaments, hastily corrected sheet music, a plague of tuning issues, but finally a well-performed piece, he would look up, beaming, and say, “Wow! The best bitov in the world!”

And he was right, every time.

Maria and Vassil Bebelekov. (photo: EEFC)

Maria and Vassil Bebelekov. (photo: EEFC)

Vassil passed away on July 31, 2016 at Lark in the Morning Music Camp in the Mendocino Woodlands. He is survived by his widow, Maria, and daughter, Kostadinka (Didi). He was preceded in death by his son, Jivko, in 2005.

Photos, videos, comments and memories are available at https://vassilbebelekov.memorial.

In Memoriam

By

In this issue we honor two towering figures of Balkan music: Bulgarian accordionist Ibro Lolov and Macedonian singer Usnija Redžepova.

Ibro Lolov

By Kef Times Staff, Winter 2015-16

Ibro LolovIbro Lolov, one of Bulgaria’s great accordionists and Rom musicians, died in Sofia on September 14, 2015, at the age of 83.

“He was one of the pioneer accordionists who developed the style and technique of Bulgarian accordion in the 1950s along with Boris Karlov, Kosta Kolev, Ivan Šibilev and others,” says Yves Moreau. “Like Karlov, he enjoyed much popularity in neighboring Serbia and Macedonia. He also composed quite a few Bulgarian horo tunes and Roma kjucheks and accompanied many folk singers.”

Lolov was born on April 20, 1932 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was a Rom from the Yerli group, according to Carol Silverman.

Carol was also able to contribute the following tidbits drawn from Bulgarian Wikipedia: Lolov started playing the accordion at age 11 and his first performances were in Sofia bars. His father, Lolo Najdenov, played clarinet in Korenyaškata Grupa. In 1953 Ibro Lolov made his first recordings at Radio Sofia. He maintained an active touring as well as recording schedule. He played with many popular singers such as Atanaska Todorova, Boris Mašalov, Mita Stojčeva, Kostadin Gugov and instrumentalists Petko Radev, Mladen Malakov and Didi Kušleva. He won many prizes and competitions, such as Laureate in the 1983 World Accordion Festival in France. He played Serbian, Greek and Romanian music as well as Bulgarian and Romani. His Shope style was characterized by staccato playing.

A few YouTube links of Ibro Lolov’s playing (you can find many more if you search):

Beliški Čoček

Dobrudžansko H̱oro (with slow intro)

Gankino Horo

Satovčansko Horo

Sofijski Čoček

Tigra Čoček

Thanks to Yves Moreau and Carol Silverman for their help in preparing this article.

Usnija Redžepova

By Kef Times Staff, Winter 2015-16

Usnija Redžepova

“Early this morning in Belgrade, well-known Romani singer and stage actress Usnija Redžepova succumbed to the lung cancer she'd been battling for the last three years,” Alex Marković posted to the EEFC listserv on October 1, 2015.

Usnija Redžepova was born on February 4, 1946, in Skopje, Macedonia, of Romani and Turkish parents who were very poor.

At around age 17, she excelled in a Radio Skopje pop singing contest and radio officials tried to convince her strict father to let her become a professional singer, which was not considered a suitable path for a Romani girl at the time. He prevailed and she continued with her schooling, but after completing her secondary studies, she began singing in cafes and then joined the Nasko Džorlev ensemble and toured Yugoslavia for five years.

In 1966 she released her first recordings on the Jugoton label. For her early recordings, the studio assigned her the stage name Usnija Jašarova to avoid confusion with Esma Redžepova; the two were not related but were friends and later recorded an album together (Songs of a Macedonian Gypsy, ca. 1975). Over the following decades, Usnija Redžepova released many singles and nine albums, mainly of folk songs from Southern Serbia and Macedonia, sung in Serbian, Macedonian, Romani and Turkish.

“Together with Esma, Usnija was one of the first Romani women to make it on the national music scene in socialist Yugoslavia, and to popularize songs in the Romani language, among other things,” Alex says. “She was also famous for dancing while performing on stage, with that wonderfully subtle Romani dance aesthetic typical of the communities in southern Serbia and Macedonia. She was best known (interestingly) for popularizing music from southern Serbia and particularly Vranje, often performing with the best-known brass bands of the area. She sang both folk songs and composed songs.”

In 1973 Usnija Redžepova was asked to star in a stage play, Žarko Jovanović’s new adaptation of Koštana, a popular drama by Bora Stanković about the Romani singer and dancer Malika Eminović Koštana of Vranje. She joined the National Theatre in Belgrade and stayed there until 1999, while continuing to record music and perform music at home and abroad. She also appeared in two films and a 1980 TV adaptation of Koštana.

“She was a beautiful performer and had a very specific vocal quality and style of singing, by turns sweet and raw, exuberant, edgy,” Alex says. “ In the 1980s she recorded many of her famous songs, and was featured quite regularly on television in music videos and for live performances during shows.”

Here are some videos that Alex collected:
Aber kruži (The Word Is Going Around): accompanied by the Bakija Bakić brass band from Vranje

Kazuj, krčmo, džerimo (Tell Me, Tavern): a song closely associated with Vranje today [note the almost comical backup dancers performing a stylized folk form, in comparison with Usnija's more reserved Romani style dancing! Ah, the 1980s....]

Keremejle: one of the few songs in Ottoman Turkish still remembered in Vranje, here performed to the accompaniment of the Bakija Bakić brass band

Živote moj (Oh, My Life)

Thanks to Alex Marković, Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Database for the information in this article.

Ibro Lolov

By

Ibro LolovIbro Lolov, one of Bulgaria’s great accordionists and Rom musicians, died in Sofia on September 14, 2015, at the age of 83.

“He was one of the pioneer accordionists who developed the style and technique of Bulgarian accordion in the 1950s along with Boris Karlov, Kosta Kolev, Ivan Šibilev and others,” says Yves Moreau. “Like Karlov, he enjoyed much popularity in neighboring Serbia and Macedonia. He also composed quite a few Bulgarian horo tunes and Roma kjucheks and accompanied many folk singers.”

Lolov was born on April 20, 1932 in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was a Rom from the Yerli group, according to Carol Silverman.

Carol was also able to contribute the following tidbits drawn from Bulgarian Wikipedia: Lolov started playing the accordion at age 11 and his first performances were in Sofia bars. His father, Lolo Najdenov, played clarinet in Korenyaškata Grupa. In 1953 Ibro Lolov made his first recordings at Radio Sofia. He maintained an active touring as well as recording schedule. He played with many popular singers such as Atanaska Todorova, Boris Mašalov, Mita Stojčeva, Kostadin Gugov and instrumentalists Petko Radev, Mladen Malakov and Didi Kušleva. He won many prizes and competitions, such as Laureate in the 1983 World Accordion Festival in France. He played Serbian, Greek and Romanian music as well as Bulgarian and Romani. His Shope style was characterized by staccato playing.

A few YouTube links of Ibro Lolov’s playing (you can find many more if you search):

Beliški Čoček

Dobrudžansko H̱oro (with slow intro)

Gankino Horo

Satovčansko Horo

Sofijski Čoček

Tigra Čoček

Thanks to Yves Moreau and Carol Silverman for their help in preparing this article.

Usnija Redžepova

By

Usnija Redžepova

“Early this morning in Belgrade, well-known Romani singer and stage actress Usnija Redžepova succumbed to the lung cancer she’d been battling for the last three years,” Alex Marković posted to the EEFC listserv on October 1, 2015.

Usnija Redžepova was born on February 4, 1946, in Skopje, Macedonia, of Romani and Turkish parents who were very poor.

At around age 17, she excelled in a Radio Skopje pop singing contest and radio officials tried to convince her strict father to let her become a professional singer, which was not considered a suitable path for a Romani girl at the time. He prevailed and she continued with her schooling, but after completing her secondary studies, she began singing in cafes and then joined the Nasko Džorlev ensemble and toured Yugoslavia for five years.

In 1966 she released her first recordings on the Jugoton label. For her early recordings, the studio assigned her the stage name Usnija Jašarova to avoid confusion with Esma Redžepova; the two were not related but were friends and later recorded an album together (Songs of a Macedonian Gypsy, ca. 1975). Over the following decades, Usnija Redžepova released many singles and nine albums, mainly of folk songs from Southern Serbia and Macedonia, sung in Serbian, Macedonian, Romani and Turkish.

“Together with Esma, Usnija was one of the first Romani women to make it on the national music scene in socialist Yugoslavia, and to popularize songs in the Romani language, among other things,” Alex says. “She was also famous for dancing while performing on stage, with that wonderfully subtle Romani dance aesthetic typical of the communities in southern Serbia and Macedonia. She was best known (interestingly) for popularizing music from southern Serbia and particularly Vranje, often performing with the best-known brass bands of the area. She sang both folk songs and composed songs.”

In 1973 Usnija Redžepova was asked to star in a stage play, Žarko Jovanović’s new adaptation of Koštana, a popular drama by Bora Stanković about the Romani singer and dancer Malika Eminović Koštana of Vranje. She joined the National Theatre in Belgrade and stayed there until 1999, while continuing to record music and perform music at home and abroad. She also appeared in two films and a 1980 TV adaptation of Koštana.

“She was a beautiful performer and had a very specific vocal quality and style of singing, by turns sweet and raw, exuberant, edgy,” Alex says. “ In the 1980s she recorded many of her famous songs, and was featured quite regularly on television in music videos and for live performances during shows.”

Here are some videos that Alex collected:
Aber kruži (The Word Is Going Around): accompanied by the Bakija Bakić brass band from Vranje

Kazuj, krčmo, džerimo (Tell Me, Tavern): a song closely associated with Vranje today [note the almost comical backup dancers performing a stylized folk form, in comparison with Usnija’s more reserved Romani style dancing! Ah, the 1980s….]

Keremejle: one of the few songs in Ottoman Turkish still remembered in Vranje, here performed to the accompaniment of the Bakija Bakić brass band

Živote moj (Oh, My Life)

Thanks to Alex Marković, Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Database for the information in this article.