Golden Brass Summit. - sound recording review

Whole Earth, Winter, 2002 by Doctor Rhythm

Various performers, compiled by Ilija Stankovic 2 CDs; Network $31.96 ($36.46 postpaid) www.harmoniamundi.com

The German Network label has put out a monster double-CD set, subtitled Fanfares en delire, and also known as 40 Years of Guca: An Anthology of the Biggest Brass Festival in the Wodd.

Balkan brass music has returned from the brink of extinction, largely due to this annual festival, which now draws tens of thousands of attendees. When it began in 1961 under Tito, people dusted off ethnic costumes that had been in mothballs since the Second World War, and soon the aromas of boiling cabbage, spit-roasted meat, and hot schnapps filled the air.

Half the repertoire was then patriotic songs of mixed ethnic derivation. Compiler Ilija Stankovic has omitted them here, saying he's had enough of them. He also points out how the "white" orchestras from western Serbia were favored over the "black" Roma bands from the south and east, though the latter were invariably superior musically.

One of the event's founders wrote, "The trumpeters stand on stage and play for four hours, trying to outdo one another. Their trumpets glisten like golden ducats, their songs are melancholic, about the transience of beauty and the stubbornness of sorrow. The 'cocek' dance is fiery, whereas the 'kolo' flutters across the meadow like a ribbon. The audience spare neither their hands nor their feet ..."

Stankovic went through 1,500 tracks, many of them in deteriorating condition, to find the best for this compilation. It's a nonstop joy, and a delight for the ears. Brass bands can get frenetic and seem like torture, but this compilation balances the jiggy gypsy stuff with melodic folk tunes, and shows the love and care that went into its creation.

Doctor Rhythm (Alastair Johnston) is a letterpress printer and a teacher of graphic design who DJs over the San Francisco radiowaves. The author of scholarly works on typography and bibliography, he has spent time in Africa, Brazil, Haiti, and other musical hotspots, and publishes a free monthly email review of world music, from which the following are excerpted. I know of no other review of music with such a Whole Earth flavor. To subscribe, write docrhythm@earthlinknet.--PW