Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar
Go Marko Go!
Piranha (www.piranha.de)

Serbian trumpeter Boban Markovic presides over the most critically acclaimed brass band in all the Balkans, and another album of his freewheeling, swinging troop of horn-wielders in action would have been welcome. This one's a bit different, though. Markovic the Elder handed the composing, arranging and overall creative duties to his son Marko, and the end result succeeds in both retaining that brassy Balkan charm and breaking some new ground. There are beats that sound hip-hoppy, some rockish drum fills, noticeably more borrowing from the realms of funk, jazz, Latin and Caribbean music and more shaking up of what could be called the established order. And I like it. Markovic Sr. has never hesitated to push the boundaries, so what becomes most clear here is that he's imparted to his son a sense of how far you can push without flying off the handle. Marko dares to tone down the Orkestar's famed mass brass attack in a few spots, allowing for a more pan-Balkan (and more pan-global) sound which nonetheless has a feel for when to really unleash. His own compositions and his arrangements of others' tunes get an impressive showing here, adding up to a fine CD that carries on the quality assured by the Markovic name. - Tom Orr

CD available from cdRoots

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