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Taraf De Haidouks
The group of twelve Gypsy “lautari” (traditional musicians), originating from a small Romanian village, introduce listeners to a musical world which includes medieval ballads, Turkish-flavoured dance tunes from the Balkans, and characteristic vocal inflections.
The Taraf de Haidouks - the name literally translates as “band of honourable brigands” - are a bunch of extraordinary and colourful characters, who have managed to convince the audiences of the biggest World Music festivals. “Their wild energy is the essence of gypsy music … their set seemed like the bubbling source of 20th century rhythm … they spun out cadences that recalled bebop, salsa, and the polyrhythms of Zimbabwe and Nigeria” (The New York Times), “the band that’s wowing London” (The Evening Standard, 7 June 2001) through their rhythmically complex songs with grace, easy camaraderie and sense of mischief wins over everybody in concerts.
Taraf de Haidouks’ first three albums explore the local resources and traditions. For the fourth album, always eager to expand the scope of their music, the "best Gypsy band in the world" (as described by UK daily The Independent) have decided to confront their styles to those of other Balkan countries by inviting Gypsy virtuoso musicians from Macedonia (the Koçani Orkestar brass band), Bulgaria (clarinet player Filip Simeonov) and Turkey (percussionist Tarik Tuysuzoglu) to join them on stage. The result is a series of exciting mixtures in which magical moments abound. Along with these ambitious compositions one will rediscover with great pleasure the fantastic atmosphere of a Taraf de Haïdouks live performance in a collection of previously-unrecorded pieces featuring the various singers and soloists in top form and particularly galvanized by the importance of the event.
Taraf de Haidouks also appear in the movie “The Man Who Cried” together with Johnny Depp, which was directed by Sally Potter. Being a personal admirer of the band, Johnny Depp commented about Taraf de Haidouks: "They have this gift to make you feel alive. They are among the most extraordinary people I ever met”.
Taraf de Haidouks played with violin legend Yehudi Mehunin for a TV show. French director Tony Gatlif’s award winning movie “Latcho Drom” was about them.
Early 2002, Taraf de Haïdouks won the BBC RADIO 3 Award for World Music (category Europe / Middle East). The actor Johnny Depp flew especially over from Los Angeles to give them the Award.
In December 2006, Taraf de Haïdouks and Crammed Discs have been awarded the prestigious Edison Award for Best Jazz/World DVD of the Year for the last released DVD/CD "The Continuing Adventures of Taraf de Haïdouks". The Edison is the Dutch equivalent of the Grammy.
Excerpt of the statement made by the Edison jury:
"Ever since the early '90s (thus way before the current Balkan craze), the one and only real "Band Of Gypsies" has been showing the international public that Gypsy music is universally attractive, and has conquered sophisticated home-listening and dancefloor-friendly audience.
Taraf de Haidouks are currently working on an original concept for their new album and live show: In the early 20th century, many composers have drawn their inspiration from traditional music. They found inspiration in the national folkore of the Balkans, Russia, the Iberic peninsula, often borrowing from Gypsy music to create their vision of an exotic, exuberant, mysterious (and largely imaginary) Orient.
Things have now turned around, as the world's leading Balkan Gypsy band have taken hold of works by Bartok, Khachaturian, Kosma, Ketelbey, Manuel de Falla, Albeniz and Liszt and are "re-gypsyfying" them by giving them an exhilarating Taraf once-over!
These new interpretations will appear on the Taraf's new album, which is scheduled for June 2007, and will be the band's first release -with the exception of the "Continuing Adventures" DVD- since 2001's acclaimed "Band Of Gypsies". |
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