The multinational Alex Simu Quintet is comprised of Alex on clarinets, Franz von Chossy on piano, George Dumitriu on viola, Mattia Magatelli on double bass and Kristijan Krajncan on drums and cello. For much of this concert Alex played a bass clarinet that was as tall as him and looked mighty impressive. This was the…
| 23/12/2019
The first act on the bill was Tafar De Impex. Their style of music is described as electro-Gypsy and the band was comprised of drums, bass, guitar, saxophone, violin and two sets of keyboards. They started off with a couple of instrumentals and the sax and keyboard solos were impressive but when the violinist began…
| 13/12/2019
With this album Mydy (usually known as Mydy Rabycad) seem to be moving in an even more electronic direction as there are no saxes and no samples of blues singers while the drum kit is less to the fore and there’s only a teeny bit of guitar. These eight songs were produced by keyboardist Nèro…
| 02/12/2019
‘This movie for your ears’ were the words Frank Zappa used to describe his very successful solo album Hot Rats – and they could well be used to describe this album. This recently released CD is Romanian-born Alex’s debut as a bandleader and all six tracks were composed by Alex himself. The quintet is comprised…
| 18/11/2019
This was the third UK appearance by this indie quartet from Gdansk; the two previous gigs in London were reviewed here on CEEL. The group comprises Grzegorz Kwiatowski on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Wojtek Juchniewicz on bass and lead vocals, Tomek Pawluzek on drums and Rafal Wojczal on keyboards and lead guitar (made from…
| 08/10/2019
The main room at the Green Note was almost full to the brim and it was clear from the start that most of the audience were acquainted with the band. The London Klezmer Quartet were formed in 2009 and this gig was part of their Tenth Anniversary Tour. The group comprises Indra Buraczewska on double-bass…
| 30/09/2019
The Green Note is a very intimate venue and with around 70 people inside, the atmosphere was buzzing even before Dagadana entered – so when they did appear with the two female band-members adorned in traditional floral headdresses, they received a very warm welcome. This four-piece (three from Poland and one from Ukraine) is composed…
| 12/07/2019
‘You have to beat the sorrow with celebration’ is an old Roma saying and Oysland’s set contains some sorrow, but this is more than counterbalanced by celebration. This well-established, London-based Klezmer band are comprised of lead vocalist Lori Secanska, Olga Baron on violin, John MacNaughton on clarinet, Iakovos Loukas on semi-acoustic guitar and Twm Dylan…
| 08/07/2019
It was only five months ago that Thom and his band first appeared at the Troubadour, but their show has changed a lot in that time. They included five songs from their latest CD All I Know but there were also a number of new ones, as well as three covers. The last time they were…
| 14/05/2019
The Riga indie trio Carnival Youth comprises twins Edgars and Emils Kaupers on guitar and drums respectively and Roberts Vanags on keyboards, while they all contribute vocals. They appear to have parted company with their bassist Alexsis in recent years. They’ve been together since 2012 and have so far released two albums, No Clouds Allowed (2014)…
| 30/04/2019