Besh o droM!
Inna Barmash, now in Bucharest on a seekrit mission, writes that if I thought Balkan Beat Box is outasite, I should really lend an ear to Besh o DroM - www.beshodrom.hu.
"They've toured everywhere [but the USA], but the logistics are that much harder for US touring. I've been a fan of theirs for years, but only met Gergo, the leader, here in Budapest for the first time a few weeks ago. It turned out that he's Jewish and even made Aliya a few years ago (and came back to Hungary). So there's klezmer/Israeli influence in their music, too... "
Barmash' band, Romaska has a CD out, and her fiance, Ljova, has a new release, "Vjola" - "it's not klezmer at all, or at least he didn't conceive of it as klezmer. But the following comment is somewhat typical (and mystifying to him). Perhaps you can explain it better than anyone else... Here's the response from one listener: 'Hi Ljova, I got your CD last night, and I've listened to it 3 times over already. I'm a big fan. And that's from someone who usually doesn't like Klezmer music.'" Inna continues:
"Another news tidbit - I was talking to Kalman Balogh yesterday - the great Hungarian gypsy cymbalom player. He says he's coming to the States in April to tour with Joel Rubin. But he said they're only coming to Virginia... which is a pity. That would be an amazing show... I didn't realize that Joel has collaborated with him before, but this whole gypsy-klezmer scene is closer than ever."
With luck, Joel or Kalman will drop a line and I'll get the details into the KlezmerShack "Global Calendar of Interesting Music". You can follow Inna's blog at innabar.livejournal.com