Balkanatics

BALKANATICS is a Balkan inspired brass band that plays wild, rhythmically driving music from the Balkans and Turkey that always get audiences dancing. Born out of London's cosmopolitan music scene it combines the cream of the UK with the best immigrant musicians.


IAN EAST - saxophone/flute/zurna (traditional Turkish oboe)
Saxophonist and flautist Ian East grew up in London with a large appetite for music from all over the world. He studied for four years at the Royal Academy of Music where he met up with like minded collaborators David Beebee and Patrick Naylor who went on to form Beeboss Records. Ian has worked with Steve Melling's Quartet, Tim Whitehead's Sight Reading Mothers, David Beebee's Gaya, Brasil Universo (playing music of Hermeto Pascoal), New Dreams Quartet (inspired by Don Cherry), Philip Clouts Quartet and Patrick Naylor's Soundial amongst others as well as running his own projects Balkanatics, Ian East Quartet and Momentito with David Beebee. His varied CD releases can be found on the Beeboss Records website. He is also actively involved in jazz and world music education, running jazz and Balkan music workshops and teaching saxophone at the Blackheath Conservatoire He has performed/taught with Eddie Parker's Integrated Music Project IMPRO and also spent five years performing and leading workshops for Yehudi Menuhin's Live Music Now!

TOM ARTHURS – trumpet
Nominated as Rising Star in the 2004 BBC Jazz Awards, and winner of the Peter Whittingham Award 2001, Tom's debut album of original compositions with quintet Centripede was released on the Babel Label in 2003. Tom is also writing for and performing with Freefall (with Azilut's bass clarinet virtuoso Lothar Ohlmeier, Julie Sassoon and Milo Fell) as well as Squash Recipe: a transatlantic collaboration with Toronto drummer Joe Sorbara and New York pianist Bruce McKinnon. Besides his own projects Tom has recently been performing and recording with Timeline, Synergy (the F-IRE big band), Pete Wareham, mbira player Chartwell Dutiro, JazzXchange Dance and Music Company, electronic music manipulators Icarus and Squint visuals. He has also recently recorded some comedy trumpet for BBC3's The Mighty Boosh!

IGOR GUDZALOV – trumpet/voice
From Strumica in Macedonia, Igor gained his Masters Degree at Skopje’s main music university ‘Cyril and Mepodiy’ and then went on to play with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra for five years. He has also worked with master clarinetist Stojan Dimov and with Alea, a group specialising in modern 20th Century Macedonian music. He also worked on the Brass band and jazz circuits before moving to London.

PETRO DEWSHI - accordion
Played with Polish folk dancer groups Orlenta, Karolinka in late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1989-1993 he played with various musicians in Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia & Poland and in London from 1995/6 onwards played in many Balkan music groups including Yash BAsh with David Bitelli which  specialises in music from the southern Balkans, Mukka, Marama Caffe BAnd, Ultraswing and Marcel Mamaliga. In 1999-2001 played with improvising musicians from the Bassesferre collective in Bologna, Italy. Recorded with Gilad Atzmon Oriental House Ensemble 'Exile' 2002 and with Mukka 'life,Life' 2003 and Bucharest string ensemble 'Radio London' 2003. Divides most of his time between Italy and UK. Having played amongst numerous musicians from Romania, Serbia, Italy, France and the UK his playing therefore reflects the influences of these countries.

DAVE POWELL - tuba
A graduate of London University and the Royal Academy of Music, Dave was trained as a classical musician, but has always had an interest in other kinds of music. He has performed with numerous symphony, opera and ballet orchestras in Britain and abroad and also specialises in contemporary music as a member of the London Sinfonietta. He was a founder-member of Loose Tubes and has played with the bands of Mike Westbrook, John Dankworth, Billy Cobham, Barry Guy, Pete Hurt, Martin Speake etc. Dave has run many education and community projects involving drama, improvisation and composition. He has his own 8-piece jazz/world music band “Kermesse” which has recorded a CD. His compositions include songs for children, a piece for 16 trombones, sacred choral music, electronic dance music, and a piece for solo tuba and brass band.

NUMAN ELYER - darbuka
Numan started his career playing traditional Turkish music in various folk groups around South West Turkey. He subsequently moved to Istanbul where he studied under the county's leading darbuka players. Now settled in London, he has played with several artists including Terry hall, Natasha Atlas, Eduardo Niebla, Mukka, Abdelkader Saadoun, Nara, Damask and various classical Indian groups. He also plays regularly for some of Britain's best-known belly dancers and runs darbuka workshops.

RASTKO - davul (tapan)
Rastko Rasic was born in Belgrade, Serbia and as a boy first played the trumpet and later classical percussion. In 1993 he won a scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston, U.S.A. and it was during his stay there that he started collaborating with such diverse artists as Vardan Ovsepian, afro-pop group Lovewhip, the avant-garde Balvanyos Ensemble, the Ethiopian reggae band Mebreq and the Romanian pan-flute virtuoso Damian. He has been living in London since 2000 performing with various jazz groups and working on pop and world music projects including the pan-Balkan Mukka and currently, the hotly tipped Polly Paulusma.

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