Roy Parnell (1943-2006) - Earshot Jazz

Le Mystère, from page 7
were among the country’s outsiders. The
Communist dictator Todor Zhikov and
his henchmen brutally excluded and
suppressed Rom artistic expression, and
persecuted its practitioners – even now,
after the end of Communist rule, the
country has a poor record of treatment of
the minority Roma, who number about
500,000 – just under seven percent of the
country’s population.
And yet – isn’t it so often this way?
– both official sponsorship and official
persecution produced phenomenal
musical and other artistic results. Rom
wedding bands such as the phenomenal
ensemble of Ivo Papasov flourished in
the underground, and in a true folk sense
– at village festivities, chiefly weddings,
8 • Earshot Jazz • March 2006
promoted by word of mouth. Their “folk”
was a merger of Rom styles with those of
the countries and regions through which
they roamed. It was often electrified
– but folk.
Koutev based his compositions on song
and tunes from various regions of Bulgaria,
and formalized them in a way that
gained approval from thugs and surely
risked producing shockingly debilitated
expression.
And yet he triumphed. His groups came
to represent the pinnacle of what could be
achieved under the wet blanket of state
“sponsorship” of the arts.
Early on, as now, the members of Le
Mystère are singers from the various rural
regions of Bulgaria. Using arrangements
by Koutev, or by the current conductor,
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Dora Hristova, the earmarks of the group
continue to be sophisticated harmonies,
thrilling rhythms, and a dazzling, six-part
vocal style. The repertoire includes works
not only by Koutev, but also by other
composers who followed in his path, including
Krasimir Kyurkchiyski, Nikolai
Kaufman, and Petar Lyondev.
So, in the final count, what should we
make of the group’s connection to “folk”
music? It seems that it is the category,
“folk music,” that is perhaps the problem.
So often invoked, yet so infrequently
inspected, it seems often to serve an
exclusionary role, just as the Bulgarian
authorities wished it to. It doesn’t include
jazz, or the blues, although in many ways
those forms both meet its stipulation of
demotic performance handed down in
practice and performance, borne along
in a tradition of evolution.
But that’s another topic, and I’m not
here to provoke dissonance, not when
we’re about to be treated to music of
such transporting, world-wise otherworldliness.
– Peter Monaghan
Presented by Earshot Jazz and KBCS
91.3FM. Tickets available through Earshot
Jazz (206) 547-6763 and Ticketmaster
(206) 628-0888 and Ticketmaster online.
Town Hall Seattle: 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle
(8th & Seneca); pay parking on site.
The Tiptons, from page 7
Marc Seales and Michael Brockman at
the University of Washington, but had
been a musician since childhood, and a
saxophonist since her teens. A teacher of
saxophone, clarinet, and flute, she has
continued the Tiptons’ tradition of locating
and bringing on board the finest of
woman sax players in the region.
And here, timed to Jessica Lurie’s visit
from out in New York, is an extra treat.
She and her bloke, the phenomenal
artist, Danijel Zezelj, will present their
performance, live painting, projection,
song, and live band performance piece,
“Shop of Wild Dreams,” at Consolidated
Works (500 Boren Ave N, 381-3218)
on March 1 through March 3. This is an
event not to be missed, because Zezelj’s
art must be seen to be believed (see www.
dzezelj.com).