The Brass Menazeri is the Bay Area's Award Winning Balkan
Rom ("Gypsy") style brass band, performing hard driving music of Serbia, Macedonia &
Greece.
Long before the current Balkan brass music craze, as iconified by crossover artists like Beirut and NY's Balkan Beat Box, the musicians of the San Francisco Bay Area's powerhouse Brass Menažeri Balkan Brass Band were already getting deep into the music. And there is plenty of depth to get into—a tradition developed over centuries by the Rom (“Gypsy”) communities of Serbia, Macedonia and Greece, which yields music as alive with ecstatic celebration as with despairing laments. It is music that draws on many of the characteristics common throughout the Balkans: odd-metered rhythms, riveting, often close harmonies, soulful improvisations, and a mission to get people dancing. It is a living tradition that is as old as a mournful Ottoman-era melody and as new as American funk and Bollywood movie hits, and Brass Menažeri embraces it all. They are steeped in tradition and yet bring their own 21st-century American sensibilities to every arrangement they create, every wild solo they take, every note they play. This is not museum music, nor a re-creation or an emulation. It is undeniably alive, played with skill and passion by seasoned musicians. Now a wider audience is taking notice, as Brass Menažeri's powerful live music drives some of the most fresh and exciting live shows in the Bay Area, including SF Weekly's "Best Crazed Gypsy Brass Band Dance Party," Kafana Balkan. It is no wonder they have crowded clubs screaming and boogying and begging for more.
"Warning: listening to the Brass Menazeri is addictive—once they start, you can't stop." —Dina Maccabee, SF Bay Gaurdian
Brass Menazeri's latest CD—Vranjski San: Vranje Dream. The streets of Oakland, California meet the streets of Vranje, Serbia, and a raucous party erupts. This is Brass Menažeri Balkan brass: on fire with live-wire ecstasy, midnight laments, unstoppable dance beats. The party must never stop. Vranjski San is available at www.cdbaby.com/cd/brassmenazeri2!
Brazen is our first CD, presenting rousing, inspiring, soulful Balkan Rom, Serbian, & Greek-Macedonian tunes with heart-rending improvisations, lush vocals and all the infectious energy of our live performances. Brazen is available at www.cdbaby.com/cd/brassmenazeri
or on iTunes!
Booking inquiries
If you would like to book the Brass Menažeri, write to booking@brassmenazeri.com.
Members
The Brass Menažeri is:
- Peter Jaques (director, clarinet, trumpet)
has been a fixture of the Bay Area Balkan and Near Eastern music scene since 1995. His playing style combines traditional Balkan Rom, Turkish and Greek idioms with his own, deeply soulful approach. He also plays with Gamelan X, the Balinese-hybrid processional orchestra directed by Eric Oberthaler.
- Briget Boyle (vocals, snare) started singing music from Eastern Europe in 2000 when she attended the College of Santa Fe as a Music Performance and Composition major. She relocated to Austin, TX, in 2003 where she spent a year as the lead singer for the African drumming, dancing and singing ensemble, Umoya. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2004, Briget has been a vocalist and percussionist with Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble, Kaila Flexer, Mariana Sadovska, Linda Tillery, Dan Cantrell, and Amy X Neuburg.
- Darren Johnston (trumpet) is our newest addition. Darren is one of the most sought-after trumpeters in the Bay Area jazz & new music scene. See for yourself at darrenjohnstonmusic.com
- Larry Leight (trombone, baritone horn) brings over 40 years experience on both euphonium and trombone to the band. Larry has played with such Bay Area legends as Mitch Woods and Lavay Smith. In addition to leading horn sections in such clubs as The Gold Dust, Curtain Call and Café Trieste, Larry has backed up singers such as Paula West , Kim Nally and Denise Perier. A much sought after soloist for big bands, Larry has recently been selected as lead trombonist for the Louis Bellson big band.
- Rachel MacFarlane (baritone horn, vocals) has been involved with Balkan music for over 30 years, a mania inextricably linked with her passion for Balkan languages, music, dance and domestic arts. Fluent in Serbian and Croatian, Bulgarian and Macedonian, she has used her skills to great effect in such groups as Seattle's Radost Folk Ensemble and the Bay Area's Macedonian folk band Debela Macka. She has been director of the East European Folklife Center for 15 years. Rachel has made numerous trips to the Balkans, including two recent excursions to brass band festivals in Serbia, where she had the opportunity to work directly with several of today's hottest Serbian Rom brass bands.
- Eric "EO" Oberthaler (trumpet, composition) fell in love with Balkan music back in the 90's while at CalArts. He was introduced to this region's amazingly rich musical traditions through Serbian guitar virtuoso Miroslav Tadic and his balkan speed-punk band, Slavster. Upon arriving in the bay area in the early aughts, he discovered the nascent Brass Menazeri and dove right in. It could be the genetic resonance from his mother's side of the family from eastern Slovakia or it could be the irresistibly sinewy melodies and undeniably compelling rhythms. It doesn't matter any more; it's in his blood now. In addition to his work with Brass Menazeri, EO directs and composes for Gamelan X and Chorus of Dreams. You can also check out his myspace page.
- Michele Simon (tupan, vocals) fell in love with Balkan folk music at age 15 and has never recovered. After a 20-year acting career, she has spent the last 19 years as a vocalist and drummer with a variety of Balkan music groups including Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble, and the dance bands Anoush, Orkestar Sali and Zabava! Izvorno. She has studied with native-born musicians in the USA as well as in Bulgaria, where she has appeared on Bulgarian National Television. She is a popular singing teacher at West Coast music workshops and camps. Her latest non-brass project is the Greek roots band The Helladelics.
- Evan Stuart (sousaphone) is a native son of Santa Cruz, CA. Evan was convinced by his mom to attend the East European Folklife Center's Balkan Folk Music & Dance Workshop in Mendocino in 2004 and was overcome by the amazing music and community spirit and soon began playing in the Bay Area with groups such as The Brash Punks, Zabava, California Kapela, Top Dog Run, and now Brass Menažeri. Besides tuba, Evan also performs on bass, and anything else he can get his hands on!
- Alexander Zendzian (baritone horn) first played horns growing up in the Penobscot Valley of central Maine. As an artist based in the Bay Area since 2001 he has studied and performed with dance pioneers Anna Halprin and Sara Shelton Mann, and toured nationally and internationally with Project Bandaloop and Capacitor. Currently he is a member of the Joe Goode Performance Group.
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