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Who knew John Zorn was composing 13-time Balkan/Arabic tunes? Balkan-jazz quintet Radio Banska, evidently, and there’s a cracking arrangement of Zorn’s ‘Ravayan’ on this album. For all the rootsiness of the tunes, they’re all modern, with guitarist Dave Spencer contributing half and violinist Nina Trott’s briskly Manouche ‘Emo Latino’ a lively little number. Tosh Witejunge’s bass and Mark Whitlam’s drums cast a convincing reggae spell over Richard Galliano’s ‘Chat Pitre’, moodily rendered as a loose ballad, and guitarist Tony Barby flavours Spencer’s ‘We’re Not in Kansas Now’ with a Moorish flamenco underpinning. It’s all tightly arranged, straddling the roots/jazz divide without overstretching either way, and nicely captures the band’s distinctive sound. (Tony Benjamin) HHHH www.facebook.com/radiobanska Copyright Tony Benjamin 2012 |
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‘The Balkan Courtesan’ (LP, Get Real Records)



















































































































































































































