Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Sanda Weigl: Gypsy in a Tree

164

Sanda Weigl: Gypsy in a Tree

By

View read count
Sanda Weigl: Gypsy in a Tree
Romanian singer Sanda Weigl's story is a harrowing one that spans the full length of the Cold War, from pre-Ceausescu Romania to communist East Berlin to West Berlin before arriving most recently in New York City, at a time when many Gotham musicians were investigating Eastern European influences in Western music, making her expertise in Gypsy music immediately popular. A lifelong fan of Romanian Gypsy music, Weigl drank deep from all its influences, pouring her lifetime of musical and political experiences first into 2002's Gypsy Killer (Knitting Factory), and now Gypsy in a Tree.

What follows is exciting a collection of music of any kind, that could be hoped for. Weigl employs an unlikely band of Japanese multi-instrumentalists in brilliantly updating eleven traditional Gypsy songs, raising them easily into chamber art. While her Japanese cohorts might seem a strange fit, they are not so strange in the light of the success of Maasaki Suzuki and his Bach Collegium Japan has had presenting Bach Cantatas over the past 20 years. No, these guys are the crack-real thing.

Immediately evident is the oom-pah of Eastern Europe, propelled with great finesse by electric bassist Stomu Takeishi, who really puts the spit-shine on these pieces. His elastic burping presence in "Un Tagan Avea O Casa" ("A Gypsy Had a House") walks a fast 4/4 when not scaling those craggy Roma rhythms. Pianist Shoko Nagai and clarinetist Douglas Wieselman wax avant- garde jazz in their respective solo outings on the piece. This daring musicianship informs all of the pieces on this recording, never clouding the authentic with new-fangledness or novelty.

In "As Ofta Sa-Mi Isa Focul" ("I Would Sigh"), Weigl sings "I sigh to let out the fire of my love," in this lilting ballad that concludes with the anxious "Last night if I wouldn't have sighed / I wouldn't have survived to the next day / If I wouldn't have smoked / I would have gone crazy," capturing the sweet torture of desire. "Anii Mei Si Tineretea" ("The Years of My Youth") demonstrates this same confident passion, Weigl proclaiming, "I want to die while loving / and forget everything else," again honoring the in-the-moment personality of these songs.

This music is like nothing else. Weigl's Japanese trio weave a spun web of platinum upon which Weigl lays these rich and old songs. This music arrives out of East German Jewish melodies mixed with Weimar-period Berlin cabaret. It is full of life, love, lust, family—all those things that are good.

Track Listing

Intr-o zi la poarta mea; Sun tigan avea o casa; As ofta sa-mi iasa focul; Saraiman; Adu calul sa ma duc; Anii mei si tineretea; Jandarmul; Nu exista-n lumea asta; Toderel; Dans; Alomalo.

Personnel

Sanda Weigl: vocals; Douglas Wieselman :guitar, clarinet; Shoko Nagai: accordion, piano, Farfisa; Ben Stapp: tuba; Stomu Takeishi: electric bass; Satoshi Takeishi: percussion.

Album information

Title: Gypsy in a Tree | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Barbes Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.