Ljova, Lost in Kino (Kapustnik Records, 2011)

As an in-demand classical violist, member of the New York gypsy band Romashka, and leader of his own group the Kontraband, Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin keeps himself busy.  Perhaps the most interesting facet of his work, though, is his scoring of the soundtracks to numerous films, from low-budget art house movies to more ambitious projects directed by people like Francis Ford Coppola.  On Lost in Kino, his third album, Ljova performs (with some help) two dozen of his original soundtrack compositions.

Lost in Kino is broken into two halves.  The lighter first half primarily reflects the Eastern European side of Ljova's musical background with contributions from his bandmates in Romashka, but is bookended by two bluegrass-flavored pieces featuring Mike Savino on banjo.  Because the pieces were composed for particular movie scenes, a lot of them clock in at less than a minute and end rather abruptly.  Even the longest track on the first part, "War Then Peace," is a composite of several different musical themes.  Taken together, though, the fragments connect like a gypsy Abbey Road.  The compositions may have originally been designed to reflect different moments in different movies, but collectively they present a quick sampling of the many diverse styles of Balkan and gypsy music. Romashka's performances are never less than first rate, and this portion of the disc makes for some fun listening.

The second half of the disc consists of generally lengthier pieces more serious in tone.  The music in this section is mostly classical in feel, although some of the tunes maintain the Eastern European influence and two are even Oriental in flavor.  The longer compositions can be considered on their own terms, and not just in the context of this album the movie they were made for. Of these, the highlight is a beautifully arranged extended instrumental called "The Coup."  Another very strong track is "Russian Winterland, "a very pretty waltz featuring Inna Barmash (Romashka's singer and Ljova's wife) singing the melody line the second time through.

Ljova's compositions range from very quirky and tongue-in-cheek to very meticulous and deliberate, with a lot of stops in between. One way or the other, his work is always intriguing and worth a listen. Lost in Kino manages to cover a lot of musical ground in a relatively short amount of time, but broad diversity and quality compositions make for an effective combination.

Overall grade: A-

reviewed by Scott

"The Coup"

Ljova and the Kontraband, Mnemosyne (Kapustnik Records, 2008)

The violist Ljova first came to my attention when he joined the superb Brooklyn-based gypsy band Romashka a few years ago. Although I know him from folk circles, Ljova's musical background is extremely diverse; the list of performers he's worked with includes both Yo-Yo Ma and Jay-Z. I was actually the first person to publish a review of Ljova's debut CD Vjola: World on Four Strings. That album featured Ljova, almost exclusively, multi-tracking several different viola parts for each tune. On his new album Mnemosyne, though, Ljova works with a backing group called the Kontraband, featuring Patrick Farrell on accordion, Mike Savino on bass, and Matthias Kunzli on percussion. A couple of tracks also feature vocals from his wife, Romashka's singer Inna Barmash.

As with his first album, Ljova composed all the music himself. The tunes on Vjola: World on Four Strings alternated between folk music of a mostly eastern European feel and darker, more impressionistic pieces. The tunes on Mnemosyne are generally more consistently structured, although a few of them include a breakdown in the rhythm and melody to allow for Ljova and Farrell to do some heavy experimentation. Ljova displays some serious skill as both a composer and player throughout the disc, but he definitely has a playful side as well. Often this side manifests itself in the tune titles -- my two favorite instrumentals on the disc are called "Love Potion, Expired" and "Crutchahoy Nign"-- but the music itself often unpredictably bounces off on some fun tangents.

Inna Barmash is comfortable singing in a number of different languages, to the extent that it was a bit surprising at first to hear her sing in English on two of her three songs. But she does a particularly good job on the song "Mnemosyne," a poem by Trumbull Stickney that Ljova set to music. She sings in Yiddish on the traditional Yiddish song called "Koyl." Her last song, the very tongue-in-cheek love song "Gone Crazy," was written for her by Ljova and done in the style of an American mid-1900's standard.

Ljova is a unique and intriguing performer, and Mnemosyne is another broad exploration of the many facets of his personality in general and his musical tastes in particular. As was the case with his first offering, the new album is so diverse that it may be hard for one person to like everything on it. But any music fan will probably find at least a few tracks that pique their interest.

Overall grade: B+

reviewed by Scott

Ljova and an early version of the Kontraband performing "Bagel on the Malecon" at Joe's Pub in Manhattan.

Reprinted with permission from The Green Man Review
Copyright 2009 The Green Man Review

Zlatne Uste Golden Festival, Good Shepherd School, Inwood NY, January 13 2007

For the seventh straight year, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Zlatne Uste Golden Festival, held once again at the Good Shepherd School in Inwood on the northern tip of Manhattan. I've already described the Festival in detail twice, first in 2003 and then again for this blog last year, so I'll refer you to those articles for a sense of what the show is like and what kind of performers play at it. The Festival has been and continues to be the best party in town, but most aspects of its presentation remain fairly constant year to year. Something was different about this year's Festival though, to a degree that was impossible for any regular attendee to overlook: it was really crowded. Granted, some of the increase in attendance may have resulted from the unusually warm January weather we've been experiencing in the New York area, but I get the feeling that there's a deeper explanation than that.

There's a real scene for Balkan folk music in New York City, and not just to listen to it. I go to the Nordic Roots Festival in Minneapolis every year because there are a lot of exciting young performers doing creative things with traditional Scandinavian music, but all those performers are based in Scandinavia. Golden Festival has largely become a showcase for a lot of exciting young performers doing creative things with traditional Balkan and Mediterranean music, but most of these performers live in the five boroughs and the surrounding area. Some of them, like the amazing percussionist Raquy Danziger and her band Raquy and the Cavemen, came to my attention specifically because of the festival. However, a lot of the local Balkan groups have steadily built a local base through word of mouth and making contacts. Romashka, a furiously upbeat party band specializing in gypsy music, first came to my attention when their singer Inna Barmash e-mailed me out of the blue because she had read my review of the sadly defunct club Satalla on Green Man Review and was looking for people to write about the band. I made a trek down to a bar in Brooklyn one night to see them play, and I was hooked. I found out about Luminescent Orchestrii (not present as a band at this year's festival, but represented by at least two of their members playing with other groups) because somebody at the Makor correctly thought they'd make a worthy opening act for the mighty Warsaw Village Band when they played there last year. Ljova's work has been heard by fans of performers as diverse as Yo-Yo Ma and Jay-Z. He's also very accessible personally. I saw him on the stairs heading up to the main floor, and he wished me a "Happy Golden Fest" like it was a major holiday. I hadn't realized, until speaking with him there, that I had written the first review of his debut CD for The Armchair Critic. I consider that an honor.

If the size and enthusiasm of the audience were any indication, the efforts of these performers to publicize their music are starting to pay dividends. As well as the Good Shepherd School has served as the host of the Golden Festival over the past few years, I'm a little bit concerned that it won't be big enough to handle further increases in attendance. Still, I can't imagine that host band Zlatne Uste are anything but thrilled at what the festival they started twenty-one years ago as a benefit for Balkan relief efforts has grown into. (By the way, you might have some trouble accessing the Zlatne Uste and Golden Festival websites for a while. They have exceeded their traffic allotment for the month.)

Golden Festival includes many non-Balkan styles as well, and here is the NY Spelmanslag playing Swedish music. (You only see half of me playing the 12-string guitar, but it was the best group shot I had.) We play Wednesday nights dowtown for Scandia NY. We're not quite at the same level of musicianship as a lot of the other Golden Fest bands, but we do more than all right for amateurs, and we generally please our target audience.


Inna Barmash fronts Romashka on the main stage.


The host band Zlatne Uste never fails to draw a large crowd to the main floor, but the crowd was especially large this year.

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Ljova, Vjola: World on Four Strings (Kapustnik Records, 2006)

Ljova (Lev Zhurbin), a Moscow native currently living in New York City, plays his viola in a variety of styles. He first came to my attention through his involvement in the raucous gypsy party band Romashka, but he also does arrangements for acts like the Kronos Quartet and Yo-Yo Ma. On his solo disc Vjola: World on Four Strings he takes a step back from the frenzied sound of Romashka, instead composing Eastern European-style dances, some laid back blues, and a handful of impressionistic pieces. Ljova is essentially a one-man string quartet on this disc, playing all the melody and harmony lines himself and even plucking out the low notes on his viola like it was an upright bass.

Vjola succeeds not simply because of Ljova's technical mastery of his instrument, but also because he can compose and arrange in styles from very different parts of the globe and make the tunes sound like they belong together. His segue way from the sprightly tango "Ori's Fearful Symmetry" to the deliciously bluesy "Coffee +Rum" is especially effective. Other highlights include the cleverly titled "Bagel on the Malecon" and the waltz "Garmoshka," which features guest accordionist Michael Ward-Bergeman.

I must confess, though, that my exposure to impressionism is far too limited to adequately evaluate the more challenging pieces on this CD. I was enchanted by the high, dissonant harmonics that accompany "O'er" and the radically re-interpreted cover of Björk's "Army of Me," but I'd expect that some people who are listening for the tangos and waltzes will not know what to make of these tunes. Likewise, the extended pieces "Collage" and "Spring Valley Sunset" require careful attention to small details over long stretches of time, and I'm still trying to digest these.

On Vjola: World on For Strings, Ljova demonstrates a superior command of his instrument in a multitude of styles. Fans of Romashka shouldn't expect this to sound very similar to their CD, but anybody in the mood for mellow tangos, waltzes, or front-porch blues played on viola will find a few tunes to their liking. Some of the tunes most definitely do not fall under the category of easy listening, though, but at the very least they help paint a fuller picture of Ljova's musical personality.

Overall Grade: B+