COMPOSERS: Kroke
LABELS: Oriente Musik
PERFORMER: Bawol (accordion) et al
CATALOGUE NO: RIENCD 74
Offering a similarly stripped-down ambience, and plenty more harmonics, kroke are a Polish trio plus percussionist who perform a jazz/classical-influenced version of the klezmer folk music silenced by the Holocaust. After collaborating with British violinist Nigel Kennedy, they lost their way slightly, but Out Of Sight shows they’re back on form. Tomasz Kukurba’s viola and sometimes eccentric, scat-like vocalisations lead most of the melodies, with bass, accordion and percussion taking largely rhythmic roles. Jon Lusk