Vladicin Han in southeast Serbia must be a difficult place to get a decent night's sleep. By some quirk of geography—and Balkan history too—the town has somehow emerged as an important center of Roma brass band talent in the country. The fact that it has a large indigenous Roma population—natural musicians who are much in demand as musical entertainers at feasts and weddings—is, of course, one important factor. Vladicin Han has been churning out homegrown trumpet wizards ever since the mid 19th century when brass bands first formed in the region as soldier-musicians made use of their decommissioned brass instruments for purposes of entertainment.

Of all the virtuoso players to emerge in Serbia, it is Boban Markovic who is the undisputed star. A household name in his own country, and so talented that he has long been barred from entering the hugely popular trumpet competition held annually at Guca in central Serbia, Markovic appears to have made a start on founding his very own trumpet dynasty by way of his son Marko.

Golden Horns is an unashamed 'Best of' collection that showcases both generations of the Markovic clan. There's a wide range of material here, some traditional and well-known like "Hava Naguila" and "Ederlezi", which was made (relatively) famous by its use in the film Time of the Gypsies by Emir Kustarica (Boban himself appeared in Kustarica's later opus Underground). There are quite a few Boban and Marko Markovic originals here too, like "Rromano Bijav (Romany Wedding)", "Obećanje (Promise)" and "Šljivovica (Plum Brandy)", which coincidentally is the recommended alcoholic accompaniment to this boisterous style of music.

One criticism of Serbian čoček music is that it can all start to sound a little bit the same after a while. But for dance music—for that is what this is essentially—played on a limited range of brass instruments, some similarity of pace and melody is perhaps inevitable. Nevertheless, there is a good range of tunes here and for those seeking a comprehensive introduction to this enjoyable musical genre Golden Horns is as good a place as any to start.