gypsy caravan 2

[Inna Barmash <ibarmash...>]

Roberta et al,

I got a chance to see the Gypsy Caravan 2 show in Princeton at McCarter
Theater.
All in all, it was a great show - very enjoyable and amazing in the span
of
musical diversity.  Maharaja,  the ensemble from India was probably my
favorite
- subtle, quiet energy, very tight rhythms, beautiful dancing. The music
sounded
Indian to my untrained ear, but there was that gypsy spark to it that I
am used
to hearing in Eastern European gypsy music.

Esma Redzepova was sort of disapointing. Her incredibly powerful soulful
voice,
which I loved on the recordings, was there. But the whole show was kind
of hokey
- the accompanying musicians were dancing in corny choreographed steps
around
Esma, the keyboard player let out new-agey meteor-dropping sounds in all
the
wrong places, and Esma's renditions of some of the favorites that made
her
famous were tired, in my opinion.  I usually appreciate when the
musicians play
to the public, but this was definitely overplaying.

The  Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia was great - the most
klezmerish of
the concert, great music executed with spirit, incredibly tight, and
none of
that fake showmanship that I hated in Esma's band.

The "El Pipa" Flamenco Ensemble was ... weird.  Juana "la del Pipa" who
was
promised to be "charismatic" in the program was scary at best.  Her
incredibly
low and terrifyingly scratchy voice was juxtaposed with a male singer's
surprisingly high-pitched yeowls. The male Flamenco dancer was great,
but after
a while, his movements, accompanied by quiet guitar and occasional
screams by
the male singer and hellish screeching sounds by Juana got a bit
strange.   I
really don't know anything about Flamenco music, so I hope noone takes
offense
at the above observations - these were just the impressions I got at the

concert.

I do hope to catch more gypsy music in the New York area, so keep us
posted.

Take care,
Inna


Drummamaro (at) cs(dot)com wrote:

> Eliezer,
>
> I saw the Paradox Trio at Ashkenaz Fest '97. I'm not a big fan of
fusion but
> I like what they do, mixing downtown with Balkan, jazz, and klezmer.
Also I
> had the opportunity to learn dumbek from Seido at Balkan Camp in '94.
> Do you know if anyone has caught the Gypsy Caravan 2 concert that's
touring
> North America?
>
> Roberta Levine
>




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