Kate, the term balkan being used for gypsy music or vice versa is indeed making false friends since both don’t always have to do with each other. Markovic does fit the balkan music coin since his style of music isn’t gypsy music but is mostly inspired by old army marching band. The again, Fanfare Ciocarlia don’t fit the balkan anorak, since they are Romanian and some members are Roma gypsies.
either way, both names are pinned on the eastern european styles as generalised form of music, which is misleading for listeners. I reckon the music press and promoters are to blame for this lazy and hyped use of this terminology.

While in the Rajasthani folk institute last week, I stumbled upon a very good book on Hungarian folk music and songs by Zoltan Kordaly (Folk music of Hungary) and I read some chapters of it, quite an eyeopener too!

In this, Kordaly speaks a lot about the influence (or defluence) of the Roma gypsies, as he claims (and proves) that Hungarian and Romanian Roma’s actually have always played old Hungarian folk tunes and reworked them into their own language and rhythms. All these songs have spread over Eastern Europe through the gypsies, so as well as changing the songs, they also promoted them wide and far on their nomadic goings, but just not in the original version. Remixers on the road? surely. So yeah, all gypsy music can be traced back to Hungarian folk, so most of the music traces that they left in the balkan can also be regarded as such.

well Matt, I reckon I can prepare a post about elaborating this further……

Kate- IMHO, the term “Balkan music” is much more general than “Gypsy music”. The word “gypsy” is avoided a lot these days for some good and some stupid reasons.. but anyway, “gypsy jazz” and other gypsy genres usually refer to music influenced by traditional Roma music. Balkan music may include elements from the music of nomadic Eastern European peoples, but there’s a lot more there as well.

Cheers
Matt

perhaps not brass at all, but there are gypsy styles from Hungary and Transylvania that haven’t not got much attention (bar none) in this balkan hype that swoops western Europe. The Csarda and Korcos styles. All done with polyphonic violins and cello’s alone that gives the sound a bizarre fullness of acoustic drones. there’s a small piece about it on my home blog -old style rabbit-.

especially look for old men bands like Magyarpalatkai from Hungary, where most of their best players are elderly now.
In north-western Romania in Transylvania and Crisana at the Hungarian border there is this same style, but played at a slightly different pace. In Gatlif’s movie Transylvania you can see a *déchirant* tune done by 3 violinists.

another straight-up and unknown gypsy piece, is Acquaragia Drom’s album Zingari, a band of Sinti Roms from Napoli, Italy, released in 1995. clue: their music is quite undiscovered in the gypsy party scene.

happy soundhunting!
greetings from India.
seb