The Cracow Klezmer Band - The Warriors (2001)

Many thanx to Jonatan from Poland for having made me discover this stunning quartet (which has changed its name to Bester Quartet starting from January 2007) of whose existence I was totally unaware.
The Warriors is their second effort, and certainly one of the most beautiful albums of contemporary Jewish music I've heard in the new millennium.

«The Cracow Klezmer Band is a Polish quartet that plays a style of music that started as traditional klezmer and over time, evolved into contemporary Jewish music flavored with strong gypsy influences. Members of the group are violinist Jaroslaw Tyrala, double bassist Wojciech Front, accordionist Jarek Bester, and Oleg Dyyak, who plays percussion, clarinet, and accordion. Bester formed the Cracow Klezmer Band in 1997 in the city of Cracow. Over the next few years, the group built a growing fan base by appearing at Jewish Culture festivals in Hungary, Finland, Poland, Prague, and the Czech Republic.» (AMG)

«The power of klezmer revival means that nowadays there is almost an excess of groups skillfully raiding the Jewish tradition. But few offer as classy an act as this Polish quartet, whose The Warriors runs tackle for John Zorn's Radical Jewish Culture series. With exquisite, delicate phrasing, violin, accordion, clarinet and double bass create a world of melody as comfortable as your favourite armchair, as nimble as a kitten.
Almost everything on this set is written by accordeonist Jarek Bester, starting totally within a klezmer tradition, but branching out to showcase the remarkable talents of the ensemble's members. In this, The CKB resemble Astor Piazzolla's equally virtuoso quintet, and the ghoulishly improvised intro to "Memento Mori" recalls Piazzolla's group invoking the Buenos Aires rush hour traffic. From the racing seven-time of "The Amorous Dance Of The Orchid" to the luxuriating Latin rhythms of the title track, every piece is a sophisticated delight.» (Clive Bell, The Wire, 228, February 2003. Review reported in the band’s own website)

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