Dimitri, the bouzouki player, came to our apartment on 4/8 and gave me (Ken) some information about Greek music, mainly the Turkish-influence rebetiko. In particular he talked about the various "paths" or "roads" (it's a common Greek term for what we would call scales or modes in English, though many of the paths are very exotic-sounding to ears used to mainly major and minor scales), and how one can switch from one road to another within a particular piece. I think I understand the principle, namely that different paths have some chords in common, and that when you get to such a chord, you could change paths if you want to. I'm not sure whether it's more complicated than that; for instance, it's possible that when playing/traveling a certain path, only some of chords that are appropriate to use with that path are "strong" enough to use as a "crossroads"--to understand that will require more digging on my part.
Dimitri invited me to join them at the taverna again on Sunday, so we invited our friends Dimitra, Piera, and Angelos and went. I sat with the band on stage for a couple hours, actually managing to play along on a few songs, hitting a few appropriate chords and notes on some others, and just doing my best to not make any serious clunkers on many songs. What a treat. The singer, Dina, is wonderful. She has the wonderful presence of a classic rebetiko singer, a presence that contains an element of what seems like "distance," but is (I believe) actually simply due to an intense engagement with the music and stories.
After that, Dimitri told the audience "Now Ken is going to sing some traditional American songs!" The band left the stage, except for Dimitri, who grabbed a guitar to play behind me. I swallowed hard and jumped right into it, singing several songs (Carter Family, Hank Williams, a fiddle tune, an old jazz tune/song called "South"). The small crowd was wonderfully welcoming and appreciative of my efforts. After that we packed up and headed for home, and the folks gave me another big send-off (thank-you applause) that was so touching to me. What a day.
The music in the video above is pretty familiar-sounding, instead of having the eastern influence of much of rebetiko, but it was the best videos for other reasons, so that's what you've got.
The video shows the people at our table (Angelos, Piera, and Dimitra) and then the taverna owner, whose name I didn't get. He was wonderful, too. When he brought the second round of food, we had one piece of cheese left on one plate, which Kathleen moved to the salad plate so that he could take away the cheese plate. I thought he was going to have a heart attack--he said something like, "You're mixing the cheese in with the salad!!!!???" But he got over it and was completely friendly. (By the way, as you can see, for our friends, smoking seems to be as important a part of the taverna experience as eating, drinking, and music.)
I'm sorry to say that there was another video I wanted to include but couldn't upload for some reason. In this one, Piera felt the spirit and got up and danced, as did Angelo some time later. Plus, the song was one that I managed to "get" and play along with. You'll just have to use your imagination.
The band's gig at the taverna is on a Sunday afternoon, but with the springtime getting warmer,
there just won't be a crowd to justify a band any longer, because everyone will be out enjoying the weather. So, Dimitri tells me that they will likely not play any more at the taverna. Sad, but I'll have fond memories.
Dimitri invited me to join them at the taverna again on Sunday, so we invited our friends Dimitra, Piera, and Angelos and went. I sat with the band on stage for a couple hours, actually managing to play along on a few songs, hitting a few appropriate chords and notes on some others, and just doing my best to not make any serious clunkers on many songs. What a treat. The singer, Dina, is wonderful. She has the wonderful presence of a classic rebetiko singer, a presence that contains an element of what seems like "distance," but is (I believe) actually simply due to an intense engagement with the music and stories.
After that, Dimitri told the audience "Now Ken is going to sing some traditional American songs!" The band left the stage, except for Dimitri, who grabbed a guitar to play behind me. I swallowed hard and jumped right into it, singing several songs (Carter Family, Hank Williams, a fiddle tune, an old jazz tune/song called "South"). The small crowd was wonderfully welcoming and appreciative of my efforts. After that we packed up and headed for home, and the folks gave me another big send-off (thank-you applause) that was so touching to me. What a day.
The music in the video above is pretty familiar-sounding, instead of having the eastern influence of much of rebetiko, but it was the best videos for other reasons, so that's what you've got.
The video shows the people at our table (Angelos, Piera, and Dimitra) and then the taverna owner, whose name I didn't get. He was wonderful, too. When he brought the second round of food, we had one piece of cheese left on one plate, which Kathleen moved to the salad plate so that he could take away the cheese plate. I thought he was going to have a heart attack--he said something like, "You're mixing the cheese in with the salad!!!!???" But he got over it and was completely friendly. (By the way, as you can see, for our friends, smoking seems to be as important a part of the taverna experience as eating, drinking, and music.)
I'm sorry to say that there was another video I wanted to include but couldn't upload for some reason. In this one, Piera felt the spirit and got up and danced, as did Angelo some time later. Plus, the song was one that I managed to "get" and play along with. You'll just have to use your imagination.
The band's gig at the taverna is on a Sunday afternoon, but with the springtime getting warmer,
there just won't be a crowd to justify a band any longer, because everyone will be out enjoying the weather. So, Dimitri tells me that they will likely not play any more at the taverna. Sad, but I'll have fond memories.
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