2008

JANUARY



BESTER QUARTET / old name CRACOW KLEZMER BAND (Poland)
Link: www.besterquartet.com

Jaroslaw Bester – accordion
Jaroslaw Tyrala – violin
Oleg Dyyak – accordion, clarinet, percussion
Wojciech Front – double bass

The CKB are one of the most creative and innovative music groups in Poland – keep on searching for new forms of expression for their musical fascinations. The CKB are the only Polish group recording for John Zorn’s Tzadik label that has released their three CDs.

16.01 Bielefeld WDR / D
17.01 Mainz SWR / D
18.01 Brussels / B
19.01 Turnhout / B
21.01 Hannover Jazzclub / D


FEBRUARY / APRIL


EVA QUARTET (Bulgaria)
Link: www.myspace.com/evaquartet

Eva Quartet consists of some of the best Bulgarian female voices – the four solo singers of the world-famous female folk choir “Le mystere des voix bulgares”. Here the different voices are meeting in such a virtuosity that you are getting the feeling of listening to one. The singing of EVA is pure solo work and every tone can be felt very sensitively.

03.02 Cagliari Festival / IT
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16.03 Segni (Roma) / IT
18.03 Sezze (Roma) / IT
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05.04 Torres Vedras / POR


MARCH


ACTORES ALIDOS (Sardinia)

Songs of the Sardinian women
From the Sardinia of the Tenores di Bitti (Bitti Tenors) an original project dedicated to the female polyphony. Songs of love and sacred songs, lullabies and popular dances, funeral laments and serenades.

07.03 Stuttgart / D

DANUBE SHIP ORCHESTRA
Link: www.danubemusicfestival.com

Peter Ralchev – accordion (Bulgaria)
Enver Izmailov – guitars (Crimea)
Kornel Horvath – percussion (Hungary)

28.03 Brussels Balkan Trafik Festival / B

IVO PAPASOV & HIS WEDDING BAND (Bulgaria)

“With a huge gut and unwieldy frame, Ivo Papasov seems an unlikely source for some of the most nimble and virtuoso music you’ll encounter anywhere in the world. After seeing him in concert, though, you’ll be left in little doubt that he’s one of the most interesting clarinettists around. He and his band race through numbers based on the complex rhythms of Bulgarian folk dances… “
Simon Broughton / editor of THE ROUGH GUIDE TO WORLD MUSIC

29.03 Brussels Balkan Trafik Festival / B


MAY


HAIG YAZDJIAN & ENVER IZMAILOV PROJECT (Armenia / Crimea)

Haig Yazdjian – Ud
Enver Izmailov – Guitar
Lenye – Vocal
Petros Varthakouris – Double Bass, El Bass
Yiannis Kirimkiridis – Piano, Keys
Yiannis Angelopoulos – Drums, Perc

Haig Yazdjian was born by Armenian parents in Syria, and has been living in Greece for the last 20 years. Yazdjian was hailed for the unique ways he was blending diverse elements of the eastern Mediterranean music traditions vested in the practice of considering tradition as a live creative force.

05.05 Athens Festival / GR
06.05 Athens Festival / GR
07.05 Kavala / GR
09.05 Vienna Balkanfeever Festival / A

KALMAN BALOGH & PETER RALCHEV BALKAN PROJECT (Hungary / Bulgaria)

Kálmán Balogh – cimbalom (Hungary)
Peter Ralchev – accordion (Bulgaria)
Ateshhan Juseinov – guitar, tambura (Bulgaria)
Csaba Novák – double bass (Hungary)

* New Project of two great Balkan Musicians *
Peter Ralchev – the great Bulgarian accordion virtuoso with
Kalman Balogh – the great Hungarian cimbalom player!

31.05 Utrecht Rasa / NL
01.06 Amsterdam Concertgebouw-Oval Room / NL


JUNE


EVA QUARTET (Bulgaria)
Link: www.myspace.com/evaquartet

Eva Quartet consists of some of the best Bulgarian female voices – the four solo singers of the world-famous female folk choir “Le mystere des voix bulgares”. Here the different voices are meeting in such a virtuosity that you are getting the feeling of listening to one. The singing of EVA is pure solo work and every tone can be felt very sensitively.

05.06 Bristol / UK
06.06 London Balkanfeever Festival / UK

ACTORES ALIDOS (Sardinia)

Songs of the Sardinian women
From the Sardinia of the Tenores di Bitti (Bitti Tenors) an original project dedicated to the female polyphony. Songs of love and sacred songs, lullabies and popular dances, funeral laments and serenades.

13.06 Festival / CH
14.06 Augsburg Night of the Museum / D

TONI KITANOVSKI & GREG HOPKINS Project (Macedonia / USA)

Greg Hopkins began his professional career in 1965, freelancing with his trumpet in the Detroit area for such acts as the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Gladys Knight until 1969, when he graduated Michigan State University. Hopkins has also performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder etc.

20.06 Toulouse Rio Loco Festival / F

IVO PAPASOV & HIS WEDDING BAND (Bulgaria)

“With a huge gut and unwieldy frame, Ivo Papasov seems an unlikely source for some of the most nimble and virtuoso music you’ll encounter anywhere in the world. After seeing him in concert, though, you’ll be left in little doubt that he’s one of the most interesting clarinettists around. He and his band race through numbers based on the complex rhythms of Bulgarienn folk dances…”
Simon Broughton / editor of THE ROUGH GUIDE TO WORLD MUSIC

21.06 Toulouse Rio Loco Festival / F
22.06 Toulouse Rio Loco Festival / F (Special Projects with Fanfare Ciocarlia, Esma Redzepova and David Krakauer)
24.06 Stuttgart Festival / D
JULY
KIRAN AHLUWALIA (India)

Kiran Ahluwalia – voice
Rez Abbasi – guitar
Gurpreet Chana – tabla/dhol
Enzo d’Aversa – accordion

Kiran Ahluwalia’s music is a reflection of her on-going quest to bring the ghazal style into a modern and global context – while maintaining the connections to it’s storied and poetic past. Though she may sing about unfulfilled desires, her music reveals a compelling harmony that unites diverse inspirations, into a truly sublime and satisfying whole.

“Ahluwalia’s voice is caressing and seductive and the arrangements are magnificent …”
Songlines

11.07 Ostrava Colors Festival / CZ

IVO PAPASOV & HIS WEDDING BAND (Bulgaria)

“With a huge gut and unwieldy frame, Ivo Papasov seems an unlikely source for some of the most nimble and virtuoso music you’ll encounter anywhere in the world. After seeing him in concert, though, you’ll be left in little doubt that he’s one of the most interesting clarinettists around. He and his band race through numbers based on the complex rhythms of Bulgarienn folk dances…”
Simon Broughton / editor of THE ROUGH GUIDE TO WORLD MUSIC

25.07 XONG Festival / A
26.07 Wolfach Klausenbauernhof / D

ACTORES ALIDOS (Sardinia)

Songs of the Sardinian women
From the Sardinia of the Tenores di Bitti (Bitti Tenors) an original project dedicated to the female polyphony. Songs of love and sacred songs, lullabies and popular dances, funeral laments and serenades.

29.8 Hamburg / D
30.8 Berlin / D


SEPTEMBER


IVO PAPASOV & HIS WEDDING BAND (Bulgaria)

“With a huge gut and unwieldy frame, Ivo Papasov seems an unlikely source for some of the most nimble and virtuoso music you’ll encounter anywhere in the world. After seeing him in concert, though, you’ll be left in little doubt that he’s one of the most interesting clarinettists around. He and his band race through numbers based on the complex rhythms of Bulgarienn folk dances…”
Simon Broughton / editor of THE ROUGH GUIDE TO WORLD MUSIC

17.09 Malmö Jeriko / SWE
18.09 Stockholm Södra / SWE
19.09 Pecs Festival / HUN

EVA QUARTET (Bulgaria)
Link: www.myspace.com/evaquartet

Eva Quartet consists of some of the best Bulgarian female voices – the four solo singers of the world-famous female folk choir “Le mystere des voix bulgares”. Here the different voices are meeting in such a virtuosity that you are getting the feeling of listening to one. The singing of EVA is pure solo work and every tone can be felt very sensitively.

19.09 Krems / A
24.09 Akku Steyer / A
25.09 Gugg / A
26.09 Hochneukirchen / A
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14.10 Prague / CZ
15.10 Bielefeld Kammermusiksaal der Oetker-Halle / D
OCTOBER
TONI KITANOVSKI & CHERKEZI GYPSY ORCHESTRA (Macedonia)
NEW ALBUM ON ENJA “BORDERLANDS”
Link: jazzrecords.com/enja/9174.htm
Link: www.elen-music.com/art056en.php

The gipsy brass orchestra ‘Cherkezi’ were thrilled to collaborate with jazz artists. What came out is mysterious hounting melodies and rhythms that make one cry and laugh in the same time, a strange force that makes you move your body and your feet, the ability to play for several hours without a second of a brake, unusual professionalism and dedication to the performance.

10.10 Copenhagen Global / DK
12.10 Slupsk Mundus Orientalis / POL
14.10 Leipzig Telegraph / D
15.10 Magdeburg Forum Gestaltung / D
16.10 Frankfurt Brotfabrik / D
18.10 Stuttgart Laboratorium / D

BESTER QUARTET (Poland)
Link: www.besterquartet.com

Jaroslaw Bester – accordion
Jaroslaw Tyrala – violin
Oleg Dyyak – accordion, clarinet, percussion
Wojciech Front – double bass

The CKB are one of the most creative and innovative music groups in Poland – keep on searching for new forms of expression for their musical fascinations. The CKB are the only Polish group recording for John Zorn’s Tzadik label that has released their three CDs.

18.10 Münster Festival / D


NOVEMBER


SEVDA (Azerbaijan)
Link: www.sonicbids.com/SEVDA
Link: www.networkmedien.de

Sevda Alekperzadeh – vocal
Emil Mamedov – piano
Iskender Aleskerov – percussion
Ruslan Huseynov – double bass or bass guitar
Malik Mansurov – tar (national musical instrument)
Natik Shirinov – nagara (national musical instrument)

Her musical career has been formed by a synthesis between western and eastern music. She is also interested in classical and pop music. Her magical blend of music from East Asia, the Orient and the Occident caught the attention of experts from the East and from abroad. This unique way of adopting and adapting different musical traditions means that Sevda has opened up a whole new chapter in the history of Azeri Music.

SEVDA QUARTET
31.10 Steyer / A
02.11 Feldkirchen / A
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SEVDA SEXTET
05.11 Vienna Festival / A
07.11 Nürnberg Villa Leon / D