Vagabond Opera

Original, jazzy, klezmer-based belly dance opera gypsy music from the coolest and most twisted exiled circus ever to run guns into Spain. Like Kurt Weill buying 3 Mustaphas 3 a glass of absinthe in a bar on Sesame Street. Fun, fresh, wacky, kitschy, catchy, and unpredictable. The lyrics are imaginative (well, the ones in English are), the playing solid, the vocalists are cool, and the whole thing great. I’d play any track – so should you.

1. Short intro into the “show.” Can lead right into 2.
2. Fun, jazzy up/midtempo ode to Marlene Dietrich.
3. Midtempo gypsy jazz-ish w/a dark cha-cha caberet feel.
4. Heavy middtempo klezmer ballad w/deliciously overwrought vocal
5. Uptempo klezmer w/tripping quality & quieter jazzy breaks. Inst.
6. Spoken word intro, gets silly, an upbeat jazzy riverboat sound.
7. Slow intro into midtempo klezmer jazz w/Arabian overtones.
8. A Yiddish tango w/a playfully retro sexuality. Vocal duet.
9. Uptempo middle eastern shimmy cool clarinet work.
10. Slow Balkinesque get mid then wicked fast. Wacky, jazzy, odd.
11. Band tunes up/ dark, Eastern European dance w/varying tempos.
12. Starts slow, picks up tempo, vocal duet. Upbeat & eccentric.
13. Slow, dramatic intro becomes a upbeat jazz/tango/klezmer blend.
14. Slow vocal duet w/a sad, old-fashioned American folk sound.
15. Bouncy accordion/perc/piano/clarinet/vox. Plinky-cool.
16. Down/mid w/nasally vox & good eastern European violin bits.
17. A classic gets an upbeat, toe-tapping good time update.