Road of the Gypsies
Road of the Gypsiesis an indispensable first stop on any excursion into the world of Gypsy music. The two CDs contain 32 tracks from many of the greatest names in Gypsy music and cover the whole spectrum, from the Middle East through Romania, Hungary, and France and down to Spain. Eloquent liner notes detail the history, migration and cultural impact of this "invisible nation" and its music. The impeccable music selections echo this theme, kicking off with the late Cameron, flamenco's greatest voice, singing the poetry of Federico García Lorca, but accompanied by sitar. Elsewhere Taraf de Haidouks (Romania), Charcoal Gypsies (Egypt), and Bratsch (France) illustrate the enormous variety in the genre, with its many subdivisions such as therom,manouche, and flamenco styles, all very distinct. Echoes of Django Reinhardt, himself a Gypsy, can also be heard in the French jazz guitar styles of Titi Winterstein. Gypsy music inspired Cervantes, Bartók, and even Beethoven and serves as an invisible thread in the quilt of European and Middle Eastern musical traditions. This is an astonishing glimpse of a culture carried in the musical brilliance of a forgotten people.--Derek Rath