Ashkenaz presents two radical Balkan dance bands: Plotz! makes its first visit to our stage, while Fanfare Zambaleta is a welcome return. It’s sure to be a wild and wonderful night!

As Monsieur Délire’s Blog explains: “Plotz! is the unlikely bastard son of Ivo Papasov and Black Sabbath… festive heavy Bulgarian jazz rock, catchy as hell and quite accessible overall.” The Culver City News explains in a bit more detail: “This is not the typical klezmer-inspired group playing standards from generations past, but master musicians blending many different genres at once, with a highly developed jazz and improvisational vocabulary.” Formed in 2005, Ventura-baseed Plotz! has been a fixture on the frantically noisy Rom (gypsy) music scene around Los Angeles ever since. The band is trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom (of Califa), alto saxophonist Gavin Templeton, Brian Walsh on clarinet and baritone saxophone, electric guitarist Jake Vossler, bass player Orest Balaban, and drummer Austin Wrinkle.

The Bay Area’s Fanfare Zambaleta plays music in the Balkan brass band tradition, which developed over centuries by the Rom (gypsy) communities of Serbia, Macedonia, and Greece. This loud, fast-paced music incorporates mixed meters, close harmonies, and dramatic improvised solos. Fanfare Zambaleta is Greg Jenkins, sax and clarinet; Noah Levitt, trumpet; April Renae, clarinet; Peter Bonos, euphonium; Jeff Garaventa, tuba; Ivan Velev, tapan; Jake Shandling, snare drum; and Corinne Sykes, vocals and tapan.