Participants: Kroke (Polen), Alicia Svigals (USA), and Les Yeux Noirs (France).
1- Kroke.
Founded by three graduates of the Music School of Krakow (Poland). By playing in jazz clubs and folk festivals, Jerzy Bawol (accordion), Tomasz Kuburba (violin, viola, voice, percussion) and Tomasz Lato (double bass) have built up a reputation as avant-garde Klezmer musicians. Based on their Jewish family tradition, they have developed a forward-looking musical concept that is never static and while never losing their respect for the spirit of Klezmer, they venture beyond the constraints of strict tradition.
CD. Eden – Kroke. LABEL: Oriënt Musik (1997), code: RIEN CD 09. Video
2- Alicia Svigals.
She is a master on the klezmer violin. Her virtuoso yet intimate interpretations of the traditional klezmer repertoire have made her one of the most important voices in contemporary klezmer music. Fidl’ is the Yiddish word for violin, an instrument that for centuries gave voice to Jewish musicality, emotion and spirit. The clarinet is the solo instrument in a klezmer ensemble, but for centuries the violin played the leading role in Europe. Under the influence of jazz music in America, the clarinet displaced the fiddle. Alicia Svigals is widely praised for her astonishing technique, passionate interpretation and thorough historical knowledge of klezmer music. She mixes her style with contemporary clarinet-oriented violin technique with musical influences from Turkey, Greece and Romania.
CD. Fidl’ – Alicia Svigals. LABEL: Traditional Crossroads (2000), code: CD 4286. Video
3- Les Yeux Noirs.
Les Yeux Noirs’ 8th album is a tribute to their grandmother, Mémé Esther, who, among other things, taught them a taste for music. After discovering archives from the early 1960s, the two Slabiak brothers, violin virtuosos, reappropriated these Yiddish and Gypsy traditions. The album Tiganeasca has kept the raw emotion of the music and extrapolated it with the addition of new sounds. The group’s violins, swing guitar, cymbals and drums were joined by Serbian and jazz accordions, bass guitar, clarinet and even a touch of electro.
CD. Tiganeasca – Les Yeux Noirs. Zig-Zag Territoires (2010), code: ZZT 101101. Video
Thanks to:
