New York Gypsy All-Stars, Mon. July 16

New York Gypsy All-Stars
Monday, July 16
Kuumbwa Jazz

Out of the depths of the Manhattan’s East Village sprang the New York Gypsy All-Stars, uniting bi-musical virtuosi raised on the lush sounds of Macedonian, Greek, Turkish and American roots; forged in the halls of the world’s best music schools. With composer’s ears and a madcap relish for funky sounds, this quintet of crack musicians tears through the tollgates separating the Balkan region’s interlocking roots on the long-awaited album of original music; Romantech, released in March of 2012 by Traditional Crossroads.

“We cover all the Balkans melodically,” explains classically trained Macedonian clarinetist and bandleader Ismail Lumanovski, “and we cover the world rhythmically and harmonically.” Playing with Roma-inspired zeal fin genres ranging rom swinging salsa to pulsing bhangra, the group never loses its sharp musical focus. “We use lots of musical elements in our original compositions that are typically Balkan Romany in style, but aren’t necessarily in-your-face,” Lumanovski muses. “We are taking what the Gypsies did, traveling from India to the Balkans and on to Western Europe and putting together the best musical ideas from every nation along the way. We’re open to the world, and we just take everything we like and make it one.”

The New York Gypsy All-Stars come by this impulse and skill naturally, but it’s a rare thing – even in music-rich Southeastern Europe and in musician-packed New York – to find conservatory-caliber musicians who grew up playing weddings or rocking ačoček or a çiftetelli with local masters. Yet that’s exactly what the NYGA are…aside from attaining Juilliard and Berklee degrees, these musicians spent their formative years jamming with and learning from local roots musicians, immersed in their indigenous musical cultures.

It’s in their playing and improvising together – often in marathon recording sessions or for ecstatic crowds from the Black Sea to Brooklyn – that the New York Gypsy Al- Stars have honed their repertoire over the many years. It’s taken the strong-willed, devoted musicians to craft and record an album as bold as Romantech where melodies get toyed with, built on, and reconstructed in a worldly interplay of sounds gathered from the musicians’ many travels and collaborations.  Get ready for a party and  join them on their journey.

MORE INFO ON BAND: http://www.nygypsyallstars.com/

CALENDAR INFO
New York Gypsy All-Stars

DATE: Monday, July 16, 2012
PLACE: Kuumbwa Jazz Center
ADDRESS: 320 Cedar St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
TIME: 7:30 PM
PRICE: $20/Adv $23/Door
TICKETS: Logos Books & Records, 1117 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz (831) 427-5100 and online at: http://www.kuumbwajazz.org
MORE INFO: http://www.kuumbwajazz.org  or 831-427-2227

Media contact:
Sandy Sloan
sandy@kuumbwajazz.org
(831) 427-2227

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