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CD Review
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Reno Gazette Journal , CD Review >>
Les Yeux Noirs
"tChorba"; World Village
3 stars out of 4
The album's title, "tChorba," means "soup," specifically a Turkish soup with several ingredients. It's a picture that alludes well the music of Les Yeux Noirs, a French band playing traditional Eastern European Jewish and Gypsy music with percussion, a bit of programming, hints of reggae, rock and flamenco and a good dose of jam-readiness. This is a band that's honed its sound for more than a decade in front of festival audiences around the world; improvisational space and endearing warmth are key elements. Songs in French (including a Baudelaire poem), Yiddish and Romani mix with instrumentals, and the mood veers from the joy of dancers to the longings of wanderers and lovers. Violins and cello, accordion, guitars, and keyboards have to take a step back when the hammer dulcimer -- a passionate instrument -- takes front and center. A pair of lullabies adds sweetness to the disc. One of them, "Rêve," urges "Dream, my child, with eyes open and closed/ Carry your life in your little hands, with all your heart."
RIYL: The Klezmatics; Ion Petre Stoican; Lo'Jo
-- Gifford 03/31/06 >> go there
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