Re: Brotherhood of Brass

[Ari Davidow <ari...>]

I don't usually wait this long, but I have been far too swamped. Your 
"Brotherhood of Brass" review is up at 
http://www.klezmershack.com/articles/2002.simon.brass.html

At 03:35 AM 8/10/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>
>HI...I have been listening to this for several days and had to jot down 
>some thoughts...I love it...this review will appear on 
>allaboutjazz.com.....anyone else giving this one a listen?...would love 
>to know thoughts...Ari..feel free to use for the shack...thanks..elliott
>
>Brotherhood of Brass 
>Frank London?s Klezmer Brass All Stars | Piranha 
> 
>The mystical high priest of New Wave Avant-Klez jazz, Frank London, has 
>released an album that defies phony political barriers and exposes 
>solid musical commonalties among Gypsy, Jewish and Arabic 
>music. ?Brotherhood of Brass?, the second release from Frank London?s 
>Klezmer Brass All Stars, is a concept album that reaches across 
>multiple millennia to present a view of musical cultural inter-
>relationships. For this purpose, London has enlisted the aid of two 
>other brass bands, the Boban Markovic Orkestar (Serbia) and the 
>Hasaballa Brass Band (Egypt). With the Klezmer Brass All Stars own 
>impressive line up, the resultant melding of Jewish, Romanie and 
>Moorish sounds exposes common threads that at times effect an exciting 
>musical A-HA phenomenon. 
>
>The first cut, ?Freylekhs-Cocek #5?, is from the repertoire of German 
>Goldenshtayn, one of the few remaining ?old-world trained? Klezmer 
>clarinetists. A Jewish freilach with a Gypsy cocek, it features Boban 
>Markovic. Markovic is the pre-eminent Roma trumpet player in the world 
>and ?blows them away? each year at the Guca, Serbian Brass festival. 
>Clarinet and trumpets trade off and build to a fever pitch as we are 
>taken back to a time when perhaps the boundaries between Jewish and 
>Gypsy music were porous. On one level, these and the four other 
>Markovic/London collaborations are making a politico-historical 
>statement but on another level, when you hear them, you forget about 
>politics and history and just dance. For that is what this music really 
>is; happy celebratory dance music. From Serbia to Cairo to New York 
>City?s Lower East Side, people who hear this will be dancing. Of these 
>five, ?Lieberman Funky Freylekhs? and ?Doin the Oriental? are 
>standouts. For the former, a funky freilach beat is pumped out by Mark 
>Rubin on the bass helicon, whose playing is exceptional throughout the 
>entire CD. ?Doin? the Oriental? could be called the signature piece of 
>the album. It is ?from the trans-national repetoire? and is in two 
>parts. Part 1 sets up with a trumpet doina as in Doina the Oriental and 
>Part 2 does the oriental with a melding of Gypsy/Jewish jazz that is 
>very sweet. 
>
>A drawback is the lack of credits as to who played which horn on what 
>cut. You sit and think; ?Wow that solo was hot, was that Frank or 
>Boban?? but then again, maybe that is the point. A-HA. This is a CD 
>chocked full of music, 16 songs with a surprise 17th that is 
>uncredited, for over 65 minutes of listening, make that dancing. The 
>straight ahead Klezmer like ?Wedding in Crown Heights?, ?Watts-Hoffman 
>Special?, ?Fast Hasidic Nign? and ?A Freylekhs Nokh Dem Khuppah? 
>evidence that the Brass All Stars continue to be the premier big brass 
>Klez band. These selections pay homage to Klezmer legends like Harry 
>Kandel and xylophonist Jack Hoffman, whose granddaughter Susan Sandler 
>plays a solid second trumpet with the All-Stars. The band is a who?s 
>who of Klez-jazz and feature current or former members of the 
>Klezmatics, Klezmer Conservatory Band and Hasidic New Wave. 
>
>As ?Nomen Est Omen (The name is a sign)? alludes, Gypsy is 
>etymologically related to Egypt and Abd Ehamid Kamel on metal clarinet 
>takes the stage with his Hasaballa Brass Band on ?Imayel Ya Khail? 
>and ?Shish Kebab?. The blending of a very Arabic/Moorish sounding 
>clarinet and percussion with a Klez/jazz rhythm makes you stop and take 
>notice. Kamel is clearly a very accomplished musician who plays 
>the ?Hasaballa? style. This style of Egyptian music is named for 
>Hasaballa, who fronted a brass band of retired army musicians. They 
>would play for weddings, pilgrimages to Mecca, the transfer of a brides 
>clothing to her new home and any other occasion that called for a large 
>amount of noise. They were playing mid eastern quartertone songs on 
>army brass instruments and were looked down upon by other Egyptian 
>musicians. A-HA. This is a fun CD that makes you both think and dance. 
>You can?t really ask for more.
> 
>
>


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