Muzikifan,
Album Review
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To paraphrase Mark Twain, the only thing better than a brass band is two brass bands. So the Serbs meet the Romanians in coldest Transylvania to see who blows hottest. But why brass? Simply put, their fingers are too calloused from manual labour to play stringed instruments. These two giants of Balkan brass are out touring together and here they trade tracks and sometimes both converge on the same song, such as the "James Bond theme," "Devla" and "Disco Dzumbus." Boban has won the golden trumpet at Guca repeatedly and appears on numerous Kusturica film soundtracks. Each band has made my annual top ten once, so who is better? While they may care what we think, we just want to party down to their contagious Eastern funk. The joint "James Bond" theme is my favourite cut on here to put it diplomatically. Each outfit gives us a version of the Duke Ellington standard "Caravan." Markovic's mob has the edge on this one. (Though I think Taraf de Haidouks' version is best!) The joint tracks give you a chance to hear the mettle of each line-up as an ensemble but also with their respective soloists. In the final analysis I'd say Markovic is more brassy, with straight-ahead horns on the brink of the Apocalypse, while Ciocarlia manage to bring wistfulness and lyricism to their set without losing the edge. (Ciocarlia's line-up includes clarinet, 4 trumpets, 2 saxes, 2 tubas, 2 other horns and 2 percussionists; Markovic has 5 trumpets, 4 tenor horns, helicon, & 3 percussionists). If you can't get to see them on the same stage you will enjoy this chance to listen in. 05/31/11
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