Ljova with the Vjola Contraband at Joe's Pub
January 17, 2007, at 9:30 pm
Joe's Pub
425 Lafayette Streeet
New York, NY
Tickets: $15
(buy online or call 212-967-7555)
closest subway: 6 to Astor Place; R & W to 8th Street; short walk from Union Square.
Back by popular demand!
Ljova and the Vjola Contraband returns to the acoustically excellent Joe's Pub for a return engagement, performing mostly new material, and sharing the bill with friends and bandmates Romashka!
(scroll down for info and videos!)
LJOVA AND THE VJOLA CONTRABAND is original music for the "remix generation". As if by alchemy, Eastern-European and Gypsy melodies, Latin rhythms, Jazz-inspired improvisations, and deeply rooted Classical forms are given new meanings. Founded by the maverick film composer, arranger, and violist Lev 'LJOVA' Zhurbin --- hailed by Billboard magazine as "one of New York's fastest rising composers and instrumentalists" -- the ensemble features two violas, accordion, bass, and percussion. Inspired by his collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Osvaldo Golijov, the Kronos Quartet, the rapper Jay-Z and others, Ljova's compositions dazzle with intricate textures, odd rhythms and lilting melodies, creating music that is both fresh and timeless. Ljova (viola), Sarah Darling (viola), Patrick Farrell (accordion), Mike Savino (bass), Mathias Kunzli (percussion).
Like a shot of honey-pepper vodka, ROMASHKA sweetens your lips, hits you heavy in the gut, and induces vertiginous euphoria. Listening to this "lethal dose of gypsy firewater" (DJ Joro-Boro, Mehanata), the brassy Balkan beats make you pound your feet, sexy string and accordion syncopations make your hips shake and the heart-twisting Russian tangos and tales of lost love make your spirit sigh and cry. Lithuanian-born singer Inna Barmash fronts a band of multifaceted American musicians and one half-Romanian madcap accordionist, who bring years of Klezmer, jazz and rock experience to their Gypsy music journey.
Roma is the Gypsy term for the Gypsy people. The complex rhythms and odd harmonics in Gypsy music are enough to enthrall musicologists, but to understand it, all you need are ears, a heart, and... a heart. Inna Barmash (vocal), Jeff Perlman (clarinet), Jake Shulman-Ment (violin), Ljova (viola), Joey Weisenberg (guitar), Patrick Farrell (accordion), Ron Caswell (tuba), Timothy Quigley (drums).
Click above to see Romashka's music video!
