Search - Aco Bocina :: Aco Bocina & Fanfare Ciocarlia

IC B. (icberry)
Reviewed on 10/30/2011...

This one's an interesting collaboration between Aco Bocina (Italian Gypsy guitarist/mandolin master) and Fanfare Ciocărlia (fire-breathing twelve-piece Romani brass party-band from a village called Zece Prăjini).

So the CD is actually under the name of Aco Bocina, with Fanfare listed as "guests".

Guests. Ha. Let me tell you a little about Romani Brass band music. It's energized, wild stuff like you can't believe -- loud, fun, insistent and very, very greasy. Fanfare Ciocărlia is no exception. These Bands usually include trumpets, tenor horns and BIG baritone horns, tubas, clarinets, saxophones, bass drum and percussion. Wikipedia has it that Fanfare Ciocărlia works in "Turkish, Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian musical styles" with a bit of international radio, Hollywood and Bollywood in the mix as well. "They are best known for a very fast, high-energy sound, with complex rhythms and high-speed, staccato clarinet, saxophone and trumpet solos, sometimes performed at more than 200 beats per minute. They are also known for using no sheet music in their performances, sometimes randomly blasting their horns and clarinets in the middle of a song, and for playing old, battered instruments onstage."

They were invited to play at Danny Elfman's 50th birthday party. What can I say? I love this stuff.

Aco Bocina, whose name is on the CD, is another kind of Gypsy performer, In the spirit of Paco Lucia or the Gypsy Kings. One review talks about his mandolin playing this way:

"...He plays mandolin turning it upside-down and sliding strings onto the blue jeans. He rubs them onto the right thigh making them whisper, implore, cry, whimper, vibrate, talk, excite, move. He makes music (a lovely music) even so, besides playing in "classic" way (handling the instrument according to the Academy and the tradition) ... He either drives mad young people or is popular among mature audience." (Translated from an Italian site.)

I'm pretty sure this CD would no doubt be snapped up immediately except the cover misses the most astoundingly great thing about it: Fanfare Ciocărlia, for the comparatively photogenic appeal of Mr. Aco Bocina, who's no slouch on the guitar, either.

Give this one a try - hope I convert another listener to Romani Brass band music. Fun stuff!