Earth-Wheel-Sky-Band - Waltz Rromano (2003)

«There's definitely a concept of a journey about this album, but it's the kind of trip you'll be happy to make. Yes, it's gypsy music, coming from a Serbian home, but traveling everywhere — note the Indian inflection on "India Rroma," where guitar sounds like sitar, balancing a delicate violin line over chord changes that could almost have been lifted from "Get Back," filtered through, well, China. Odd, but enticing, which is also true of the rest of the disc, like the breakdown that comes at the end of "Me Sem Rrom," where cimbalom and violin take off like Serbian bluegrass, after a track that gives a nod to the U.S. with its bluesy inflections. Considering that Olah Vince has been playing professionally for 40 years, this is a major step forward not just for himself, but for gypsy music in general, an adventurous, daring disc. On "Vranje-Rromans," with guest trumpeter Boban Markovic heavily overdubbed in a fanfare, Vince's guitar work connects the dots between flamenco, the Balkans, and the Middle East in a magnificent way. And he's not afraid of being quieter, either, as on "A#-Rromans," a lyrical piece with echoes of a fading past. A magnificent record.» (AMG)

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