New recordings and books by folks in the EEFC community. Names in bold type indicate EEFC Workshop campers, staff, teachers, and other EEFC supporters.
Blato Zlato (“Swamp Gold” in Bulgarian) is a New Orleans-based Balkan band featuring close three-part vocal harmonies and hard-hitting instrumentals.
Formed in 2015, the band performs folk and composed music from the Balkans and Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Bulgarian songs and improvisational, dreamy, full-energy arrangements.
Their debut album, Swamp Gold, features traditional Bulgarian and Eastern European melodies interpreted through languid, dark arrangements and improvisational continuous transitions.
Lou Carrig – accordion, vocals, Ian Cook – violin, Annalisa Kelly – vocals, Pete Olynciw – upright bass, Ruby Ross – vocals, Boyanna Trayanova – percussion.
$15 or $10 digital at Bandcamp. Blato Zlato website
Cocek! Brass Band is a 5-piece ensemble from Boston, Mass., playing all original compositions. Members are Sam Dechenne – trumpet/vocals/composer, Ezra Weller – flugelhorn, Clayton DeWalt – trombone, Jim Gray – tuba, and Grant Smith – tapan. The music is influenced by Eastern European and New Orleans dance songs, Afrobeat, Klezmer and elements of reggae and Western classical pieces.
$10 digital at Bandcamp.
Izvora, the Nightingale Trio's second full-length release, is rich with nuance and fire, and includes dazzling arrangements of ancient songs from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Russia and the Republic of Georgia. The 13-track album is more richly produced than the Trio’s 2013 release Letya, and demonstrates the trio’s growing mastery and confidence as emissaries of the new Balkan folk sound.
An emerging force on the global folk music scene, the Nightingale Trio serves as emissaries of the deep women's folk tradition from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Nila Bala, Rachel LaViola, and Sarah Larsson.
$9 digital at Bandcamp.
A creative re-imagination of a classic recording, capturing the essence of the Ellington Orchestra’s timeless sound while offering new arrangements and a refreshing liveliness.
John Carlson – trumpet, Kenny Warren – trumpet, Peter Hess – saxophone, clarinet, Peter Stan – accordion, Matt Musselman – Trombone, Tim Vaughn – Trombone, Ron Caswell – Tuba, Chris Stromquist – Snare / Percussion, Matt Moran – Tapan / Goč / Bubanj.
$10 digital at Bandcamp
True Life Trio and multi-instrumentalist Gari Hegedus have woven a tapestry of Eastern European folk songs, original compositions, and poetry that reflects the memories of human experience over the span of a lifetime. Co-produced by Eric Oberthaler, this ambitious and exciting album is a musical immersion that travels through Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
True Life Trio is Leslie Bonnett – voice, fiddle, percussion; Briget Boyle – voice, guitar, percussion; and Juliana Graffagna – voice, accordion, percussion.
$15 or $9.99 digital at CD Baby
www.truelifetrio.com
truelifetrio@gmail.com
True Life Trio and multi-instrumentalist Gari Hegedus have woven a tapestry of Eastern European folk songs, original compositions, and poetry that reflects the memories of human experience over the span of a lifetime. Co-produced by Eric Oberthaler, this ambitious and exciting album is a musical immersion that travels through Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
True Life Trio is Leslie Bonnett – voice, fiddle, percussion; Briget Boyle – voice, guitar, percussion; and Juliana Graffagna – voice, accordion, percussion.
$15 or $9.99 digital at CD Baby
www.truelifetrio.com
truelifetrio@gmail.com
A creative re-imagination of a classic recording, capturing the essence of the Ellington Orchestra’s timeless sound while offering new arrangements and a refreshing liveliness.
John Carlson – trumpet, Kenny Warren – trumpet, Peter Hess – saxophone, clarinet, Peter Stan – accordion, Matt Musselman – Trombone, Tim Vaughn – Trombone, Ron Caswell – Tuba, Chris Stromquist – Snare / Percussion, Matt Moran – Tapan / Goč / Bubanj.
$10 digital at Bandcamp
Izvora, the Nightingale Trio’s second full-length release, is rich with nuance and fire, and includes dazzling arrangements of ancient songs from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Russia and the Republic of Georgia. The 13-track album is more richly produced than the Trio’s 2013 release Letya, and demonstrates the trio’s growing mastery and confidence as emissaries of the new Balkan folk sound.
An emerging force on the global folk music scene, the Nightingale Trio serves as emissaries of the deep women’s folk tradition from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Nila Bala, Rachel LaViola, and Sarah Larsson.
$9 digital at Bandcamp.
This brass-studded, genre-defying tribute to the late Romani singer Šaban Bajramović was released 2/11/2016 on Vogiton Records and spent 23 weeks on the CMJ New World & Jazz charts, peaking at #2. It also appeared on Transglobal World Music Chart 2 months in a row.
Eva Salina – vocals, Peter Stan – accordion.
$15 or digital $9.99 on cdbaby.
Cocek! Brass Band is a 5-piece ensemble from Boston, Mass., playing all original compositions. Members are Sam Dechenne – trumpet/vocals/composer, Ezra Weller – flugelhorn, Clayton DeWalt – trombone, Jim Gray – tuba, and Grant Smith – tapan. The music is influenced by Eastern European and New Orleans dance songs, Afrobeat, Klezmer and elements of reggae and Western classical pieces.
$10 digital at Bandcamp.
Blato Zlato (“Swamp Gold” in Bulgarian) is a New Orleans-based Balkan band featuring close three-part vocal harmonies and hard-hitting instrumentals.
Formed in 2015, the band performs folk and composed music from the Balkans and Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Bulgarian songs and improvisational, dreamy, full-energy arrangements.
Their debut album, Swamp Gold, features traditional Bulgarian and Eastern European melodies interpreted through languid, dark arrangements and improvisational continuous transitions.
Lou Carrig – accordion, vocals, Ian Cook – violin, Annalisa Kelly – vocals, Pete Olynciw – upright bass, Ruby Ross – vocals, Boyanna Trayanova – percussion.
$15 or $10 digital at Bandcamp. Blato Zlato website
We’re very excited about the release of our fourth album, called simply, Raya. The band was formed and needed a name around the same time that Raya Ferholt-Wirz was born, and we asked for permission from Raya’s parents to name the band after her. Six and three quarter years later, we pay tribute to our namesake and as well as the continuing evolution of Raya Brass Band with our new album. It’s fantastic, if we do say so ourselves, our best effort yet.
Raya Brass Band is: Greg Squared – saxophone, Ben Syversen – trumpet, Matthew Fass – accordion and keyboards, Don Godwin – tuba and keyboards, Nezih Antakli – tupan and percussion, and Rich Stein – snare drum and percussion.
$12 or $8 digital at Bandcamp; for information about the band, click here.
Clarinet players in the Thracian region of Bulgaria are legion, but Georgi Koev’s style was unique. Recognized as a very astute and self-assured performer with a unique tone and color, Koev was famous for his improvisation. His repertoire consisted of traditional dances from the Pazardzhik region and slow, expressive melodies which always moved his audience. This unique collection features 25 melodies played by the legendary Bulgarian clarinetist which Yves Moreau compiled from the archives of the Bulgarian National Radio and former state-owned Balkanton record company. The CD comes with a 24-page booklet with photographs and texts (in Bulgarian, English and French) written and translated by Nikolay Chapanski (Radio Plovdiv), Martha Forsyth and Yves.
The CD is the second one to be issued in the “Balkan Folk Archives” collection following the double-CD set Boris Karlov: Legend of the Bulgarian Accordion, which Yves produced in 2003.
USD $15 + $5 shipping; CAD $20 + $2 shipping. Details, including order form and sample tracks can be found on Yves’ website.
This live DVD was recorded on November 22, 2014, at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre in Seattle, Wash. It’s a celebration of Dragi Spasovski’s 45 years of performance and Macedonian folk music artistry. On the DVD, Dragi performs over 20 urban, izvoren, and čalgija songs, accompanied by musicians from Seattle, Boston and San Jose, including David Bilides, Heidi Bodding, Bill Cope, Sandra Dean, Izumi Fairbanks, David Golber, Michael Lawson, Ramona McDowell Wijayratne, Christi Proffitt, Steve Ramsey, Mary Sherhart and Dina Trageser. To order, find more information, see the playlist and musician biographies, and view a clip, click here.
$20 through the Izvor Music site.
