Havana Night Sessions At Abdala Studios

Romanian musician and politician with Roma roots went to Cuba to jam with the gypsies; the result is an interesting fusion album dominated by Cuban rhythms but with many Balkan accents; interesting factoid – 90,000 Roma fled to Cuba in the 1940's to escape Nazi death camps; wonderful Roma-accented Spanish lyrics!

No FCC's; Favorite tracks: 4, 5, 6, 11, 12

1 – Saralman –4:17- uptempo bilingual number; strong horn section; nice fiddle; accordion; Cuban meets Balkan

2- Serenata en Batanga –3:25 – slower, solo with Omara Portuando – echoed by folk flute

3—Hopai Diri Da – 3:36 – uptempo Cuban dance rhythm with Spanish lyrics and scatting;

*4 – Quando Tu Me Quieras – 3:50 – slower, breathy solo begins; pretty guitar interlude

*5 – Ileana, Ileana – 4:22 – bilingual salsa; interesting; nice piano accompaniment; horns followed by fast accordion work

**6 – Jungali – 4:11-- starts off with slowish piano chords – singer(s) in Balkan style with Spanish language; gypsy violin; switches to Roma; nice harmony; 4/4 Latin rhythm; melodies veer major to minor and back

7 – Magdalena – 3:30 – lively Latin dance number with diverse singers; strong horn section

8 – Jelem, Jelem –5:27 – starts off slow with horn fanfare and vocals; picks up into rhythmic cha-cha

9 – Gitanos – 3:40 – uptempo with vocals, drums, pianos; a bit Gipsy Kingish

10- Zaraza – 3:27 – spoken words with violin in background; segues to guitar and violin with singers

*11—El Corazon Yo Te Dare – 4:00 – Balkan style singing of Spanish song

*12 – Ay, Mama Inez – 2:54 – unusual singing and accompaniment

**13 – Chan Chan – 5:00 – starts with a capella solo; nice flourish of cimbalom; segues into the tune we all know from the Buena Vista Social Club with continuing brass band accompaniment followed by flute