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----------------- PassiOn Music sells music CDs,
books, and DVDs.
We specialise in folk,
gypsy, traditional, roots
and contemporary music
from Eastern Europe.
We also stock a selection
of classic salsa and latin
jazz music CDs from
New York.
Romanian Gypsy
Nicolae Feraru is a maestro of the Cimbalom, or Timbal to give it its Romanian name. He has toured almost 50 different countries playing Romanian and Gypsy folk music and recorded with many leading orchestras, with two albums released (c1974 and 1984) on Electrecord being credited to him.
Here Nicolae tells his own story of being Gypsy and
playing the Timbal. More>>
This article was first published by the folk music ensemble Ifjú Szivek Magyar Táncegyüttes (Ifjú Szivek Hungarian Dance Group).
It is a profile of the rural Gypsy violinist, or prímás, Géza Potta from a village on the Hungarian-Slovakian border. The text refers to his solo CD, available here. Special thanks to Konrad Rigo for permission to re-produce this article. More>>
Koprivshtitsa
festival is one of the largest folk festivals held in the
Balkans and is also one of the best known among folklore
enthusiasts. The festival is held at the beginning of August in
the Voivodets meadows above the museum village of Koprivshtitsa
in the Stara Planina Mountains. It usually lasts 3 days, and is
the culmination of local folk festivals held throughout Bulgaria
in the preceding months. More>>
Published by Serpent's Tail, London,
'Princes Amongst Men: Journeys with Gypsy Musicians' by Garth Cartwright
is a must for anyone interested in traditional music from eastern Europe. In his research for the book Garth has traveled to meet the people, partied with them, met their families, and drunk their beer and wine. By doing so he has been able to write something that is more than an academic study but rather an engaging journey amongst those who are the music.
This is a short extract to give a flavour of the book. More>>
A
leading figure in Hungarian folk music Bela Halmos was at
the forefront of the 1970s tanchaz (dancehouse) folk revival in
Hungary. Here he talks about this movement, how it started and
the music that inspired him. More>>
Sándor Fodor is a legend. It is no exaggeration to say that his violin playing has influenced almost the folk music ensembles in Hungary today. This interview by
László Kelemen gives an introduction to this great man.
More>>
László Kelemen is the director of Hagyományok Háza (House of Traditions) and musical director of the Hungarian folk ensemble
Ökrös. He wrote this article in the late 1990s, but its relevance is still important today as it was then. It puts in perspective the sometimes confused picture of Hungarian and Gypsy folk music.
More>>
French-Canadian Yves Moreau is an acknowledged expert in Bulgarian folk and dance music.
In addition to his many workshops on the subject he is also active in projects run by such bodies as the US-based EEFC (East European Folklife Center) and the Canadian Folklore Canada International. From the Bulgarian Government he was awarded the Cultural Order of Kiril & Metodi (1st Degree) in the late 1980s for his work.
More>>
Mihály Borbély is a founding member of the ensemble Vujicsics, who for over 25 years have been one of the leading folk music groups in Europe, playing the music of the southern east European Slavic people. In addition to playing with Vujicsics Ensemble Mihaly can regularly be seen in several other jazz, folk and rock ensembles, either as a guest soloist or leading member.
More>>
This article is reproduced from the Ethnophonie CD release ETHCD006 'Romanian, Ukrainian and Jewish Music from Maramures', which features Ioan Pop and others.
More>>
This Bisserov Sisters have been singing together professionally for over 25 years. Being born in a part of the world that is stunningly rich in folk music and folk custom - the Pirin mountains - their research and collection of folk songs is more a way of life rather than a subject of academic study. More>>
Founding member of Téka Ensemble Pál Havasréti talks
about his work collecting and
researching Hungarian folk
music and the various
influences on his
music. More>>
In addition to playing double bass for top Hungarian folk band Tükrös, András Lelkes is a significant part of the management and production team of the record label FolkEuropa.
More>>
"Many people think it is a comparatively easy task to write a composition on found folk tunes...This way of thinking is completely erroneous. To handle folk tunes is one of the most difficult tasks; equally difficult, if not more so, than to write a major original composition. If we keep in mind that borrowing a tune means being bound by its individual peculiarity, we shall understand one part of the difficulty. Another is created by the special character of folk tune. We must penetrate it, feel it, and bring out its sharp contours by the appropriate setting...It must be a work of inspiration just as much as any other composition." Belá Bartók
More>>
Band-leader, crooner, composer and percussionist
Joe Quijano knew how to keep the salsa dancers happy in the 1960s and 70s; surrounding himself with some of the finest latin musicians and arrangers in New York and recording songs that people just couldn't stay still to. For many years
Charlie Palmieri, Barry Rogers etc worked in Joe's Conjunto
Cachana, recording some of the best salsa ever! Now the entire Cesta Records label (owned by Joe) have now been digitally re-mastered onto thirteen CDs. Here Chico Alvarez Peraza puts Joe's place in latin music history in perspective. More>>
Back in the 1970s one of the hardest working Latin music dance bands was
Orchestra Capri. Orlando Puertas was the Timbales player for
Capri, here are his comments on his work with the band. More>>
An
unsung hero of salsa music in New York, Willie Rodriguez
led his own hard-hitting orchestra from the late 1950s to the
early 1970s. Specialising in the uncompromising hard salsa
popular at the time with local Puerto Rican audiences, his music
featured punchy arrangements and strong playing - a
combination that has stood the test of time. A fact ably
demonstrated by the high price his original LPs exchange hands
for on the collectors' market!
This interview is probably the only one he has given, and I am
proud to present it here for those interested in the history of
Latin music in new York and Puerto Rico. - More>>
CHINO RODRIGUEZ aka Chung Mui
- Band leader, composer, musician, impressario.
In the 1970s heyday of Latin music in New York you had to be good to 'cut the mustard'. Many of the bands of that time cut an album or two, broke up, went their separate ways and thought that that was it.
Nowadays with the benefit of hindsight salsa music lovers worldwide are looking again to that fertile period and re-discovering those recordings and enjoying the music. At the time it was a localised Hispanic market, but now it is a global appreciation -
More>>
This article on multi-talented Rubén Blades originally appeared in the sleeve notes to the Nascente CD compilation
'RUBÉN BLADES - Salsa Caliente De NuYork!'. It reproduced here which the kind permission of the author John Child and the Nascente record Label. John has added some revisions to the original article.
More>>
Ever wondered what was happening in jazz music in the Eastern Block countries during the communist era? Jazz was alive and well, albeit more underground than most other countries. Cosmic Sounds-London is one man's passion to do this music justice!
More>>
