Zorbas

Estonia
http://www.zorbas.ee

Greek music ensemble “Zorbas” comes with their new album “Rebetiko” and changes in their band members.

Rebetiko (Greek blues) is a very peculiar phenomenon in world music. This urbanized folk music began to develop at the end of the 19th century; mainly in Greek colonies in Anatolia (present day Turkey). After the 1922 catastrophe it moved with immigrants to the United States, Australia, the UK and Greece, where it became widely known only after World War II when records with original recordings, many of the performers unknown until today, began to spread. A special place belongs to a dance in 9/4 time – zeimbekiko (improvised solo dance for men).

Baglamas (a mini-bouzouki) became a popular instrument. They were made in prisons by manges (petty criminals) who held rebetikos in high respect.
The lyrics contained slang understandable for the “underworld” and the main themes were love, drugs and street life. The common group of rebetiko musicians performing on the streets and taverns of the slums in harbor towns had two trihordo bouzoukis, a guitar, a baglamas and someone singing. Modern Greece values rebetiko very highly although there are few musicians left!

Ensemble Zorbas is thankful in advance to all the friends and announces that obligatory dance instruction on the spot is part and parcel of the program at the Festival – because, a wonderful Greek bunchdance is about to happen.

• Toomas Penuakis (aka Toomas Penu) – bouzouki, baglamas, percussion
• Aldo Morakis (aka Aldo Järve) – guitar, laoyto (lute)
• Imre Kalamatianos (aka Imre Valmis) – baglamas, clarinet, flutes
• Tarmo Normatakis (alias Tarmo Noormaa)– button accordion, karmoshka
• Anou Ntaoyli (alias Anu Taul) – bagpipe, percussion, vocal
• Olavi Zorbas (aka Olavi Kõrre) – trihordo bouzouki, panflute, lyre, karmoshka, bagpipe, vocal

• Olavi Kõrre: +372 517 7169; olavikorre@hot.ee