THE ETHNIC CONNECTION CD
AN ECLECTIC COLLECTION
Balkan,  Israeli,  Yiddish,  Klezmer,  Waltzes,  Polkas,  Swing,  Old Pop Songs,
Hillbilly,  Boogie Woogie,  Barbershop,  and  Ethnic connections!
 Photo of The Ethnic Connection
Carol Palms,    David Owens,    Ralph Katz,           Nan Nelson

  1.  Friend for Life  A wonderful song by Bill Danoff and Bryan Bowers, which we do in 4 part harmony and in 7/8 meter, like a lesnoto.  What a great song to start with!  “When you learn a song, you’ve got a friend for life.”
  2.  Novo Mićino kolo  Serbian u šest (kolo) featuring violin, frulas, and accordion.
  3.  Čačak   Fast Serbian dance in 6/8 on accordion and violin.
  4.  Sarajevka  Tamburica style Serbian dance with 4 part singing, and we actually slow down on the slow part!
  5.  Rokoko kolo  Rousing Croatian/Serbian song, also tamburica style and 4 part harmony singing.  (Hup! Hup!)
  6.  Niška Banja  Serbian dance in 9/8, with various melodies and words, 2 and 4 part singing, and even a  Mariachi section!  This is really fun!
  7.  Trŭgnala Rumjana  A lovely Bulgarian song in 4 part harmony and 7/8 meter, with tambura.
  8.  Keykyreikos  Greek syrto on clarinet, from the song Perdhika (“partridge”), and with an improvised solo.
  9.  Haro’a haktana min hagay  Singing version of the popular Israeli dance, with accordion and clarinet.
10.  Heymisher sher & Tarras sirba  Two Dave Tarras klezmer tunes on clarinet, good for dancing the hora or freylekhs or boiereasca.
11.  Dem milner’s trern  Sad Yiddish song about the pogroms, with accordion, viola, cello, and bowed bass.
12.  Belz  Nostalgic Yiddish song about the old home town, with accordion, clarinet, and bowed bass.
13.  Vos toyg mir di polke-mazurke  Funny Yiddish song about a man’s fruitless efforts to learn the new dances and attract the girl he loves.
14.  A kind a goldene  Humorous Yiddish song about a child of three who has to deal with four languages (so far!), with clarinet, accordion, and mandolin.
15.  Avreyml, der marvikher  Yiddish song about a young boy who becomes a proud and successful pick-pocket! Followed by a Dave Tarras sher.
16.  Der shtiler bulgar  An old instrumental klezmer tune that became famous because of the following song.
17.  And the Angels Sing  1939 popular song adapted from the above tune by Ziggy Elman for the Benny Goodman Orchestra, with words by Johnny Mercer.  Clarinet, piano, and vocal a la Martha Tilton.
18.  Škoda lásky & Beer Barrel Polka  Famous 1934 polka sung in Czech, followed by the American song it became during WW2, which is known all over the world (and which we have fun with).
19.  Červená sukýnka & Blue Skirt Waltz  Beautiful Czech waltz, sung in Czech, followed by the American version, in 2 and 4 part harmony, with accordion, clarinet, and bass.  This is really pretty.
20.  Valurile Dunării   Romanian instrumental waltz from 1880, which later became “Anniversary Song”.
21.  Rosie the Riveter  Famous WW2 song about women in the workforce, a popular hit for The Four Vagabonds. We sing it a cappella, as they did, with some instrument imitating, but we also sing the intro and the 2nd verse.  (Not related to the “We Can Do It!” poster!)
22.  In the Mood  Possibly the most famous tune from the swing era, a big hit for Glenn Miller, who got it from  Joe Garland and Edgar Hayes.  Piano, clarinet, violin, guitar, also some of the strange words, in 4 part harmony.
23.  NAMA Waltz Medley  An amusing collection of well-known waltzes that segue in unexpected places.   Aman!
24.  E. C. Polka Medley  Lots of polkas, without the strange segues, but with singing and some musical plays on words.
25.  Automobile of Life  Hillbilly (country) song recorded originally in 1938 by Roy Acuff and a “screaming tenor”.
26.  At the Hop  1957 rock ’n’ roll hit by Danny and the Juniors.  We do five part vocal and rousing boogie woogie piano.
27.  Valse tzigane  Lovely French waltz by Maurice Ravel, which later became “Fascination”, a 1957 hit for Jane Morgan.
28.  Till We Meet Again  Lovely and sentimental British song from 1917, which we sing as a 4 part barbershop quartet.  A great song to end with.    O m  .  .  .

CD Length:  79:52 (What a deal!)  Produced by David Owens (formerly with the NAMA Orchestra in Los Angeles).
Includes 20-page booklet with photos, historical info, and words and translations for all the foreign songs.

Listen to samples:   (Use earphones if you can, to get the real stereo effect.)

Friend for Life
Novo Mićino kolo
Čačak 
Rokoko kolo
Niška Banja
Trŭgnala Rumjana
Haro’a haktana min hagay
Heymisher sher
A kind a goldene
CS & BSW, track 19
RTR, track 21
NAMA Waltz Medley
E.C. Polka Medley
 ATH, track 26
Till We Meet Again

If you downloaded some or all of this digitally, you may want the liner notes that come with the CD.
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If so, you can view or save the liner notes here:  Ethnic Connection Book

I also still have some of the NAMA Orchestra's CD, NAMA 5, which has a lot of folk dances on it..  

Click on or Google:  Best of NAMA CD

CDs are $15 if purchased from me in person.  To order by mail,  add $3 per order.  (e.g. 1 for $18, 3 for $48.)   Except:   If you buy at least one Ethnic Connection CD and one NAMA 5 CD, I will pay the shipping cost, no matter how many additional CDs you order.  (E.g. 3 EC + 1 N5 = $60.)

Send check to:

David H. Owens, 2608 Traver Blvd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105


(734) 662-5253 (October – June)   or   (906) 289-4404 (June – October)
DOwens[at]Pasty[dot]com           http://www.pasty.net/~dowens/                                                  4/7/11

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