Fanfare Zambaleta was incubated in the Zambaleta Music and Dance School in San Francisco and has since transformed into a full-fledged juggernaut of a band, featuring some of the Bay Area’s most exciting young players and seasoned veterans. Emulating the great Balkan brass bands of the past and present, they play Romani, Serbian, Macedonian and Greek brass band music with passion and dedication. FZ’s potent musical concoction of wild improvisation, meticulous ensemble coordination, earth-shaking low brass, thunderous drumming and jubilant vocals will move your feet and lift your soul.
Members are: Gregory Jenkins – alto sax, vocals; Noah Levitt – trumpet; Harlow Carpenter – trumpet, truba; Theo Padouvas – trumpet; Corinne Sykes – lead vocals, percussion; Rachel MacFarlane – tenor horn; Larry Leight – euphonium; Peter Bonos – euphonium; Evan Stuart – sousaphone; Ivan Velev – percussion, vocals; and Jake Shandling – percussion.
You can download the 4-track digital album ($4 USD) or order the CD ($5 USD) at bandcamp.com.
OrnâmatiK is a group from Ann Arbor, Mich., that plays music from all over the Balkans, including regions of Turkey, Armenia, Greece, and Bulgaria.
Members are: Derek Worthington – trumpet; Andy Warren – trumpet; Eric Schweizer – saxophone, clarinet; Bethanni Grecynski – trombone; Matt Endahl – accordion; Darrin James- guitar; Ben Rolston – bass; Xavier Verna – doumbek; and Drew Schmieding – drum set.
You can get the 7-track album for $7 USD in the digital format of your choice at bandcamp.com.
Read more about the group here.
The initial inspiration for The Swing Riots Quirktette came from the great Rom guitarist Matelo Ferrét, who played for homesick eastern Europeans in the Caberet Russe nightclubs of Paris alongside Romanian, Russian and at least one Bulgarian Rom bandleader. Matelo also played Hot Jazz with Django Reinhardt and others during the ’30s and ’40s and naturally layered jazz chording and swing rhythm into this eastern European repertoire.
With this in mind, The Swing Riots Quirktette perform a mix of early, traditional string-based jazz, as well as swinging eastern European traditional dance melodies.
The Swing Riots Quirktette are Miamon Miller – violin; Pat Mac Swyney – mandolin, tenor resonator, harmonica and voice; Leslie Yeseta (of the famous Yeseta Brothers Tamburitza family) – voice and guitar; Nick Casillas – clarinet and soprano sax; Ben Getting – upright bass; Adam Steinberg – drums and percussion.
To order the 50+ minute CD-R, send a check for $12.50, made payable to Pat Mac Swyney, 25554 Via Jardin, Valencia, CA 91355, and the CD will be promptly mailed to you, same week.
Ženska Klapa Ružmarin of Vancouver, B.C., Canada, has released its first CD. The seven-voice, Croatian women’s a cappella singing group specializes in the urban four-part, close harmony folk singing style from the Dalmatian region known as klapa.
Ženska Klapa Ružmarin formed in 2009 and is directed by John Morovich. They have performed regionally for Croatian community events, as well as performances at Seattle’s CroatiaFest, Van Dusen Gardens Festival of Lights, the Vancouver Christmas Market and the CKNW Orphans’ Fund Radio-thon. The group is one of only a few klapas in North America.
To order a CD, send a check for $18 made out to Klapa Ružmarin c/o Croatian Cultural Centre, 3250 Commercial Drive, Vancouver B.C. Canada V5N 4E4. For more information email or visit the group on Facebook.
One Heart, Many Voices: A Biographical History of the American Balkan Scene, by Hasina Cohen. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014. Paperback or Kindle.
This book is a journey through the lives of six individuals who make music and dance as part of a cultural constellation known as the American Balkan scene, and by extension, a journey through the history of the scene itself. The six individuals are Mark Levy, Dena Bjornlie, Rachel MacFarlane, Eva Salina Primack, Peter Jaques and Briget Boyle. The book’s cover art is by Susan Reagel.
Rather than limiting her focus to names, dates, and trends, author Hasina Cohen serves as a conduit for the surrounding stories, creating an intimate, compelling and dynamic portrait rich in human experience.
Hasina Cohen completed her bachelor’s degree in ethnomusicology at the University of Oregon under Mark Levy and Anne Dhu McLucas.
$15 Amazon.com (paperback and Kindle)