January 30, 2001 Summary Facts:
Taraf de Haïdouks, whose name translates as “band of brigands,” is a group of lautari (traditional musicians) from the small Romanian town Clejani, southwest of the capitol city Bucharest. The dozen instrumentalists and singers—who dazzle on fiddle, accordion, cymbalum, panpipes, double bass and with soulful vocals—span three generations ranging in age from 20 to 78. Taraf de Haïdouks makes its Santa Barbara debut performing Gypsy Music of Romania in concert on Tuesday, March 6 at 8 p.m. in UCSB Campbell Hall. The New York Times’ review of the band’s first U.S. recording release, a self-titled CD for the Nonesuch label, captures the vibrant flavor of this spirited ensemble: Old, grizzled voices take turns with young and fervent ones; fiddles are cantankerous and then sweet. Their music has a cagy sense of timing. Sometimes it bounces easily along, with scratchy fiddle improvisations and voices that quaver and break with their urgency. And sometimes the oom-pah accelerates toward meteoric dance tunes, with accordion, fiddle and panpipes racing through impossibly fast, zig-zagging lines. The music is simultaneously raw and virtuosic, implacable and giddy, hinting at history, but living in a vivid present tense. Taraf de Haïdouks had never performed outside their native region before being discovered by Stepháne Karo and Michel Winter, two young Belgian music fans who fell in love with their music during a trip to Romania in 1990. Shortly after their visit, Karo and Winter organized a few concerts for the group in Belgium, and introduced the band to Crammed Discs, who signed them and at the end of 1991 and released their first recording, Musique des Tsiganes de Roumanie. The recording introduced Western European listeners to the rich musical world of the Romanian Gypsies, which includes medieval ballads, Turkish-flavored dance tunes from the Balkans, and characteristic vocal inflections reminiscent of the Gypsy people’s origins in the Indian sub-continent. The album was hailed by the media and immediately topped the European world music charts. Taraf became the first real village band to tour widely and took Western Europe by storm, being equally engaging and at home on the concert stage or at all-night busking sessions at local bars or on the street. Taraf’s second album, Honourable Brigands, Magic Horses and Evil Eye, was recorded in Romania in 1994 and was voted best world music album in 1995 by the German Critics Association. The band’s third album was recorded in Clejani and Bucharest at the end of 1997 and produced by Karo, Winter and Crammed Discs producer Vincent Kenis. Their U.S. debut recording, Taraf de Haïdouks, culls material from all three previous European releases. The compilation was assembled by David Harrington of the Kronos Quartet and David Blither of Nonesuch Records. In conjunction with this performance, Arts & Lectures is screening a pair of Gypsy documentary films. Black and White in Color: Vera Bílá and Latcho Drom screen on Sunday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. in UCSB Campbell Hall. Vera Bílá introduces the singer and leader of the band KALE whose widespread fame in Western Europe and BMG recording contract belie the poverty and ethnic scorn she knows at home in the Czech Republic. Latcho Drom is Roma-descended filmmaker Tony Gatlif’s now-classic Cannes Film Festival award-winning documentary that offers a rich look at Gypsy culture from India to Spain. Taraf de Haïdouks figures prominently in the film. (Vera Bílá: Mira Erdevicki-Charap, 1998, 85 minutes; Latcho Drom: 1993, 103 minutes) Presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures, the residency of Taraf de Haïdouks is sponsored by KCBX Public Radio 89.9 FM, and is supported, in part, with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the California Arts Council, a state agency. For tickets or more information, Editor: For photos, please call |