Balamouk

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The relationship between Eastern European gypsy music and Yiddish klezmer has always been slightly mysterious. As traditional “outsiders” to Christian village culture, both gypsy and Jewish musicians earned a living in the preindustrial past by integrating local melodies with whatever else was in vogue for weddings, banquets, and other celebrations. The result was plenty of stylistic cross-fertilization, though the particulars are lost to history. According to the French-based ensemble Les Yeux Noirs, however, the paths of the gypsies and the klezmorim don’t merely cross; the two groups walk in one another’s footprints. So if “Tchaye” simultaneously resembles a Spanish flamenco, Balkan hora, Yiddish freylekh, and Middle Eastern belly dance, the genre confusion fuels the fun. Classically trained violinists Eric and Olivier Slabiak founded Les Yeux Noirs (the name comes from a Django Reinhardt tune, “Black Eyes”) after falling in love with the music of the Jewish diaspora and all its far-flung influences. The band matches the mind-boggling precision of its performances with the deepest soul. “Trionica” overlaps accordion and cimbalom melodies, while Pascal Rondeau flings off French gypsy-jazz guitar chords in a driving hailstorm of notes. “Guene Roma” adds a tuba to the acoustic mix, while “Joc de Loop” knocks the traditional melody for a loop with swing-style, cross-cultural controlled pandemonium. Vocals worthy of a cantor on “Liebkeit” (“tenderness”) boost the pleasure quotient another couple of notches on a disc already saturated with satisfying style. Although Balamouk is Romanian for “house of fools,” the band shell is clearly populated with musical wiseacres. –Bob Tarte