Balkan Messengers

For about 25 years the sound of the Bulgarian clarinettist Ivo Papasov is rigging in the Balkans. Ivo, related to a Rom Turkish family has managed to make the traditional melodies and dances alive thanks to the accordion, the electrical guitar and the drums. Together with his Wedding Band he played for hundreds of weddings, which has made him internationally famous. The occidental Jazz has been challenged by the quality of his improvisations. In 1998 he met the Turkish violinist Nedim Nalbantoglu in Paris. The latter lived near the Bulgarian border as a child, and then he studied in Istanbul. He is a great performer and his repertoire is varied: from ottoman and balkanise music to Charlie Parker's or even Jean-Sébastien Bach, he is an amazing improviser. After a first concert in trio with the accordionist Neshko Neshev, they finally decided to play in quartet and invited a third member of the Bulgarian Wedding Band, the guitar player Radi Kazakov.

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