East Meets East
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''East Meets East'' is a
collaborative Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
studio album released through EMI Classics in 2003 by violinist Nigel Kennedy and the Kroke band (Jerzy Bawoł on
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
, Tomasz Kukurba on viola and Tomasz Lato on double bass), surrounded by several guest artists of international reputation such as Natacha Atlas, Mo Foster, and the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra. The album revisits some traditional songs and new compositions, ranging into central and eastern European music tradition as well as Arabic influences.


Recording and production

Nigel Kennedy's second wife, Agnieszka, is Polish and they spend a lot of time in Kraków, where Kennedy is the
Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...
of the Polish Chamber Orchestra. In summer 2001, Kennedy, who had previously known Jerzy Bawoł, Tomasz Kukurba and Tomasz Lato separately at jam sessions in the jazz clubs of Kraków,Morrison, Richard (11 July 2008)
"Nigel Kennedy returns to the BBC Proms"
London: ''The Times''.
and Kroke meet during a concert tour in Cornwall. Kennedy immediately presented the group a cooperation offer. The result was ''East Meets East''.The History of Kroke
at Kroke official website.
''East Meets East'' was recorded between May 2002 and January 2003 at NLD and S-5
recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...
s in Kraków, and at The Town House and Abbey Road studios in London. The album was consequently mixed on the following May by Andy Green, Dariusz Grela and Hugo Nicholson at
Eden Eden may refer to: * Garden of Eden, the "garden of God" described in the Book of Genesis Places and jurisdictions Canada * Eden, Ontario * Eden High School Middle East * Eden, Lebanon, a city and former bishopric * Camp Eden, Iraq O ...
, Metropolis, Town House and
Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...
studios in London, and mastered by Ian Cooper at Metropolis studio.Nigel Kennedy And Kroke Band, The - East Meets East (CD, Album)
at Discogs
The album, published by Oriente Musik and internationally distributed through the classical music label of EMI from June 2003, was produced by John Stanley and Jaz Coleman. ''East Meets East'' has been top of the classical charts since its release, Kroke was nominated for the
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
award in the World Music category, and both Kroke and Kennedy played together at numerous European festivals for promoting it and received enthusiastic applause. After ''East Meets East'', Kroke released ''Ten Pieces to Save the World"'', and Kennedy next record saw a return to " Vivaldi" with his 2004 album ''Vivaldi II''.


Songs

The 14-track album features seven original tracks composed by Nigel Kennedy and the three Kroke, Jerzy Bawoł, Tomasz Kukurba and Tomasz Lato, and seven traditional songs all arranged by them. The album is a stylistic and topical potpourri of
music fusion A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from '' musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are som ...
that features
elements Element or elements may refer to: Science * Chemical element, a pure substance of one type of atom * Heating element, a device that generates heat by electrical resistance * Orbital elements, parameters required to identify a specific orbit of ...
of Folk and World music with influences from the East European and Arabic music, inspired by the music of the Balkans,
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
and Gypsy people, and Jewish music, with
klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...
and
sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
modes and scales. There are also elements of the Western music such as free jazz and rock, as well as the traditional music of Poland, polonaise,
polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...
and
mazurka The mazurka (Polish: ''mazur'' Polish ball dance, one of the five Polish national dances and ''mazurek'' Polish folk dance') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character de ...
. Because of this mixture of different elements and traditions, and the experimental nature of this work, its tone frequently turns from the desperate sadness to the extreme joy. The opening track, "
'Ajde Jano "Ajde Jano" is a traditional Serbian wedding Folk song from Kosovska Mitrovica and Kosovska Kamenica. Lyrics (traditional) Lyrics (modern) Recorded versions *In 1960, Croatian and Yugoslav conductor Emil Cossetto and Joža Vlahović Choir an ...
" is a
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
kolo folk dance song. The vocals, sung in
South Slavic languages The South Slavic languages are one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches (West and East) ...
, are provided by Natacha Atlas, a Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western electronic music. The second track, "Lullaby for Kamila", is the first piece of the album entirely composed by Jerzy Bawoł, Nigel Kennedy, Tomasz Kukurba, and Tomasz Lato. This
klezmer Klezmer ( yi, קלעזמער or ) is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for l ...
piece, along with "One Voice", is considered one of the best pieces of the entire album. "T 4.2" is an original composition by Kennedy and Kroke. This klezmer piece showcases Kennedy's electric violin in a very sonically interesting setting, while electric bass is provided by Mo Foster, and additional percussion by Miles Bould. "Eden", original title "The/A Garden of Eden", is a traditional klezmer song composed by American
clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
ist,
bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...
, and one of the pioneers of modern klezmer music Harry Kandel. The following two tracks, "Dafino vino crveno, Dafino", original title "Dafino vino crveno" ( mk, Дафино вино црвено; en, Red Wine Dafina), and "Jovano Jovanke" ( mk, Јовано, Јованке, bg, Йовано, Йованке, sr, Jovano, Jovanke) are two traditional folk songs from the Macedonia (region), region of Macedonia, both very popular in the Balkans. "Ederlezi (song), Ederlezi" is an "''exquisitely refined''" instrumental version of a popular folk song of the Romani people, Romani minority in the Balkans. The effect produced by the four "''is bittersweet as opposed to saccharine, which it might have become in the hands of lesser players.''" "Kazimierz", a traditional Polish song, is dedicated to the Kazimierz, historical district of Kraków in Poland, best known for being home to a Jewish community in Kraków from the 14th century until the Second World War. "One Voice" is a klezmer piece composed by Bawoł, Kennedy, Kukurba and Lato. The track, which features additional percussion played by Miles Bould, and additional strings played by the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra, is a showcase for the three widely varying violin styles of Kennedy, Kukurba and guest violinist Aboud Abdoul Aal. It is, along with "Lullaby for Kamila", not only one of the loveliest performances of Kennedy's recorded career, it is also one of the most gently affecting compositions committed to tape in any genre in recent memory. "Tribute to Maria Tănase" is a traditional song dedicated to the renowned Romanian singer of Music of Romania, Romanian folk music Maria Tănase. "Time 4 Time" is a klezmer song composed by Bawoł, Kennedy, Kukurba, and Lato. Additional percussion are provided by Miles Bould, while Kukurba provides a non-verbal falsetto. "Vino", composed by Bawoł, Kennedy, Kukurba and Lato, features elements of "Dafino vino crveno" and "Ederlezi". The electric bass is provided by Mo Foster, additional percussion by Miles Bould. "Lost in Time", composed by Bawoł, Kennedy, Kukurba and Lato, is an unaccompanied solo track where Kennedy's fine and expressive playing is in no way overcooked. The album's closing track, "Kukush" is a klezmer song composed by Bawoł, Kennedy, Kukurba and Lato that showcases Kennedy's electric violin in a very sonically interesting setting.


Reception

Nigel Kennedy's version of Vivaldi's ''The Four Seasons (Vivaldi), Four Seasons'', released in 2002, is the best-selling classical record of all time. ''East Meets East'' is a further musical experiment and another shift away from the classical music with which Nigel Kennedy is normally associated, and is reflective of his career, which has seen him experiment with so many types of music. Jon Lusk wrote in his review of the album for BBC Music that "The balance of upbeat and reflective material is well judged and sequenced. It's also nice to hear Kroke once again playing to their strengths." The album was highly recommendedand by critic Rick Anderson, who wrote that it is an "eerily lovely collection of new compositions and folk tunes drawing on Polish and other Eastern European traditions. Teamed up with the Krakow band Kroke [...], Kennedy delivers a set of tunes that are, by turns, dramatic, soothing, emotionally tormented, and romantically yearning." Allmusic reviewer, Blair Sanderson, described the album as "an exploration of Eastern European music, presented in a fusion of popular styles without pandering to the classical audience with crossover concessions. [...] The musicians play well as an ensemble, perhaps most successfully in the vigorous dance style that reaches maximum frenzy in Kukush" giving the album eight stars out of ten.


Track listing


Personnel

* Nigel Kennedy - violin, electric violin ;The Kroke band * Jerzy Bawoł -
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
, additional vocals * Tomasz Kukurba - viola, vocals, flute, percussion * Tomasz Lato - double bass ;Guest performers * Natacha Atlas - Singing, vocals on "Ajde Jano" * Mo Foster - electric bass on "T 4.2" and "Vino" * Miles Bould - additional percussion on "T 4.2", "One Voice", "Time 4 Time" and "Vino" * Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra - additional String instruments, strings on "One Voice" * Aboud Abdul Aal - second violin on "One Voice" ;Production * Jaz Coleman - Music producer, producer * John Stanley - liner notes, producer * Andy Green - engineer, mixing, mixing engineer * Dariusz Grela - engineer, mixing, mixing engineer * Wojciech Gruszka - engineer * Sam O'Kell - engineer * Hugo Nicholson - mixing, mixing engineer * Ian Cooper - mastering * Annabel Wright - illustration * Paul Mitchell - design


Charts and awards

The album was well received and has also hit the United States charts. The success of the album, along with its promotional tour, led Kroke to be nominated for the Europe category at the BBC Awards for World Music in 2004.


Certifications


References


External links

* * * * {{Authority control 2003 albums Collaborative albums EMI Classics albums Nigel Kennedy albums Folk albums by Polish artists Folk albums by English artists Free jazz albums Jazz fusion albums by English artists Jazz fusion albums by Polish artists