RE: OT gypsy music

[Gifford, Paul <pgifford...>]

Brian Dichter [mailto:dbrian (at) enteract(dot)com] wrote:
> Yeah...when I listened to the record there were a couple of 
> songs that were
> a little klezmer-esque and that made me wonder about the 
> klezmer-gypsy music
> connection. I'd like to explore more gypsy music. Are there 
> any hungarian,
> russian or "other" gypsy records you recommend?
> 
I'm not really up on current recordings. There are probably
lots on the Qualiton label, like Sandor Deki Lakatos, Ferenc
Santa, etc.  These, however, are strictly Hungarian. If you
want American-born or raised cosmopolitan, commercial stuff,
you have to look for '50s LPs and '30s-'40s 78s. Possible Jewish
groups or leaders  include Michel Weiner (Romany 10" LP, 1954), that
Moskowitz didn't appear on; Murray Korda ("Gypsy in My Soul"),
on Score (1957); Emil Bruh on Dana (more Romanian); Emery Deutsch
on RCA Victor and Majestic (1940s); Alexander Haas on Mercury
and Keynote; Jasha Datsko (Russian; "Candlelight and Roses") on
a 10" LP and 78 album.  The most-recorded Hungarian group in
the U.S. on 78s was led by Aladar Sio; this was a Hungarian
Jewish group, according to Martzi Kallao, a Gypsy cellist who
was in New York then. Early on Meyer Davis recorded Hungarian
Gypsy music (1910s).  Some of this pan-ethnic marketing in the
1930s-1950s was similar to what happened to polka music at the
same time. There's a lot more that could be said about this music
but getting too heavily into it is probably off-topic.  On the
other hand, there's very little on this in print or on the
internet.  

Paul Gifford

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