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It's tough to properly describe Banda Olifante. Let's try: Imagine you took a great traditional Italian wedding band, threw in some Jewish klezmer and gave everyone the funk sensibility of the Stax house band.
Led by Italians Stefano Bertozzi and Massimo Eusebio, Banda Olifante combines clarinet, saxophone, tuba, horns, accordion and percussion into a swirling mix of the classic and modern, whipping up some heady songs in the process.
"Big Noise" starts out as a Latin rhythm before adding a funky snarl midway through; "Man Chali" is Afrobeat Light, with a Bertozzi's high, nimble clarinet replacing Fela Kuti's beefy sax, and "Africa" could have been composed by Kuti himself.
"Eclipse" finds the band vamping and eventually swinging under Michel Godard's surprisingly-agile tuba, and "Los Peces" puts a "wah-wah" spin on a traditional Tex-Mex melody, mixing in bits of klezmer along the way.
Ultimately, "Banda Olifante" is just a really fun record, with an intelligent, talented cast of players.
For more information, visit Banda Olifante's website.
It's tough to properly describe Banda Olifante. Let's try: Imagine you took a great traditional Italian wedding band, threw in some Jewish klezmer and gave everyone the funk sensibility of the Stax house band.
Led by Italians Stefano Bertozzi and Massimo Eusebio, Banda Olifante combines clarinet, saxophone, tuba, horns, accordion and percussion into a swirling mix of the classic and modern, whipping up some heady songs in the process.
"Big Noise" starts out as a Latin rhythm before adding a funky snarl midway through; "Man Chali" is Afrobeat Light, with a Bertozzi's high, nimble clarinet replacing Fela Kuti's beefy sax, and "Africa" could have been composed by Kuti himself.
"Eclipse" finds the band vamping and eventually swinging under Michel Godard's surprisingly-agile tuba, and "Los Peces" puts a "wah-wah" spin on a traditional Tex-Mex melody, mixing in bits of klezmer along the way.
Ultimately, "Banda Olifante" is just a really fun record, with an intelligent, talented cast of players.
For more information, visit Banda Olifante's website.
