David Dalle
Thursday October 17th, 2013 with David Dalle
Brass with Boban & Marko Markovic Okestar, the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band; Schnittke's 7th symphony

Today we hear the brand new release from the Boban and Marko Markovic Orkestar, "Gipsy Manifesto". With this release, Boban Markovic has given reins of the band to his son Marko who composed or arranged most of the tracks. Marko tries on this album to update the sound of the Balkan brass band with mixed results, adding some electronics, guitar to the brass and percussion base. However, where it works well it is explosive, overall a very enjoyable album. We also hear a similar approach to another brass band but with a very different repertoire, the Jaipu Kawa Brass Band and their new album "Dance of the Cobra". Hameed Khan is a tabla player who loves brass music and he formed this brass band with the hopes of expanding the traditional Indian brass band with more influences from Bollywood and Indian classical music. The result is wonderful. We also continue the Schnittke symphony cycle with his 7th symphony from 1993. This was from a very productive time in Schnittke's life despite his rapidly deteriorating health. The 7th is not quite as despairing and bleak as his 6th, though it shares its austere and restrained orchestral writing. There is a thread of wry humour which runs through the piece and is most obvious in the finale which dissolves into a banal waltz in the lowest instruments, tuba, contrabassoon, and double bass, this off kilter waltz just fades away. You can feel the ghosts of Shostakovich and even Mahler hovering over this sardonic symphony.