Bulgaria's Jimi Hendrix of the Clarinet Ivo Papasov--Balkanology--A Tribute for my Dad's Birthday

My Dad loves clarinets, particularly the music of the recently deceased Artie Shaw, who is a pretty good jazz musician. So I decided to post something about the clarinet. In the world of rock music finding clarinet use is like finding a reed in a haystack. Sure, Australia's Go-Betweens had a woodwind in their band, an oboe played by Amanda Brown. But that just is not close enough. I had to reach further into the realm of modern traditional music.

Ivo Papasov is a celebrated Bulgarian musician who performs "wedding music". He is a very gifted musician who ranges from mournful ululations to breakneck improvising in a variety of southeastern regional styles, from Greece through the Balkans to Turkey. And he is a superstar in his native country. The opening track Madeshki Dance, while of Turkish origin, rhythmically sounds like reggae. It's hard to believe that this type of music was actually criticized by the former Communist government in Bulgaria. I guess the former Democratic Republic wanted to promote music that was strictly Bulgarian. You would think they would have had better things to worry about--it isn't likely that there was some hidden political content in these songs.



The Wedding Slinger
Lou Reed?

 On Balkanology, all songs but three are instrumentals. Ivo's Ruchenitsa is an insanely fast-paced instrumental: you wonder how the band can stay together for the entire ten minutes. A lot of the music reminds me of jazz, albeit with traditional Eastern European instrumentation. In addition to Ivo's passages, there is also a lot of accordion and sax. Song for Baba Nedelya sounds almost like an outtake from Riverdance in parts. Vocalist Maria Karafezieva comports herself well here, as she also does on the dirgelike Istoria Na Edna Lyubov. Most songs on the record move along vigorously, though at time the music is mournful, almost reminding me of Djivan Gasparian's Duduk music from Armenia. I give Ivo credit for having the wind to get through these pieces.

This type of music may not be every ones cup of tea, but it is always good to keep your ears open to new things. So happy birthday to my Dad and here's to many many more.