Gypsy Queens & Kings, featuring:

Fanfare Ciocarlia (Romania), Esma Redzepova (Macedonia), Ljiljana Buttler (Serbia), Florentina Sandu (Romania), Jony Iliev (Bulgaria), Kaloome (France) and many more...

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(27.07.2008, 8:00 PM, Main Square)

 

The project of Romanian musicians of Fanfare Ciocarlia orchestra with the participation of outstanding Roma singers-songwriters, instrumentalists and vocalists. The concert variant of the impressive album „Gypsy Queens and Kings”. One of the most appreciated Romanian brass bands invited their Gypsy brothers from Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and France. Among the featuring guests there are: Saban Bajramovic, Mitsou, Esma Redzepova, Ljiljana Buttler, Jony Iliev and Gitanos Kaloome from Perpignan – briefly, the biggest stars of Gypsy music. Together with them Fanfare Ciocarlia prepared unique celebration of Roma music, not taking any borders in consideration. Two and a half hours of amazing emotions: melancholy and hot rhythms, epic drama and deep passion, dance, singing and virtuosity.

 

Fanfare Ciocarlia

The band comes from Moldavian village Zece Prajini. Twelve-people orchestra, based on brass and percussion instruments plays traditional folk repertoire, enhanced by inspirations from different sources: from folk dances like flamenco, to jazz elements and pop music themes. The group has played concert tours in Germany, USA, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Russia and Israel. Music of Fanfare is full of emotions and passion derived from traditional Romanian music, but also from Turkish, Bulgarian and Macedonian rhythms. Trumpets, clarinets, saxophones, drums, percussion instruments (timpani) and singing (in Roma and Romanian) creates together an extraordinary mixture with characteristic atmosphere. The band is concerting all over the world and spreading their temperament among listeners.

 

Esma Redzepova

She was born on the 8th of August in 1943 in Suto Orizari, the village where Emir Kusturica directed „Time of the Gypsies”. Her mother was a Turkish Muslim, father – Serbian Catholic. International public started to closely watch her after the concert at the Olympia Hall in Paris in 1966. In Macedonia she has nicknames: „Queen of the Gypsies” (the first time that it was used was The World Roma Music Festival in India in 1976) and ...„our second Mother Teresa”, cause she's just one big charity institution. She supports Gypsy World Organization, Macedonian and World LIONS Organization and almost 50 NGO's [Non-Governmental Organizations] – humanitarian, feministic, peace-working and tolerance-working. She was awarded with UNICEF Award and nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. She had said then: „God bless. If it had happened, it would have been the prize for all the Balkans, not only for me”. In her long music career she gave about 15000 concerts, 2000 of which were charity concerts. About her health condition with so intensive lifestyle (for example in 2001 she gave 240 concerts...) she says: „I sing good, because I'm in a good shape, I don't smoke, I don't drink. I have good genes, as all of my family has”. Two of her recordings gain a status of platinum album, 8 of gold and 8 of silver album. She released 108 singles and 20 albums.

 

Band members:

Costica „Cimai” Trifan – trumpet, vocals

Paul Marian Bulgaru – trumpet

Radulescu Lazar – trumpet, vocals

Oprica Ivancea – clarinet, alto saxophone

Daniel Ivancea – alto saxophone

Constantin „Pinca” Cantea – tuba

Monel „Gutzel” Trifan – tuba

Constantin „Sulo” Calin – tenor horn

Laurentiu Mihai Ivancea – baritone horn

Costel „Gisniaca” Ursu – drum

Nicolae Ionita – percussion instruments