On the second Monday of each month, Basil Bunelik (accordion) and other members of the band Družba are the hosts for this session for instrumentalists who’d like to play music from this rich seam. Listeners and dancers are most welcome too – comfy chairs and sofas, and a bar with real ale, local beers and ciders and interesting non-alcoholic options awaits. Some songs might creep into the repertoire too – something for everyone! Admission free.
The first of these is on Monday 9 October 2023. Each session will begin with a beginner-friendly hour starting at 7pm, with the main session from 8pm. Any acoustic instruments are suitable at various levels of ability. Email Basil on bunelik@gmail.com for advice, info, notation and YouTube links. Our aim is to build up a core repertoire of great traditional tunes that we can enjoy playing together. You’re welcome to drop in any time. It’ll probably wind down around 10pm – though might run a little later if it gets going…
Basil has posted a list of tunes on his blog here with links to PDFs of the notated music, and to audio/video on YouTube.
Here are a couple of examples (more on the link above):
Belf’s klezmer orchestra No. 23. https://youtu.be/Y_kO2NUpITM?si=tTACrww27iR0tN4q
Belf 23 Download PDF here • 1.12Mb
Czech Gypsy tune Dej Mamko. https://youtu.be/hiAuw03SG2o?si=XHNjwyYUyAYuspmq
Dej Mamko Download PDF here 2.7Mb
Monthly Music Sessions
Most Mondays, there’s a monthly live music session. The Blues session has been going for several years already, and usually has two sets by different artists, duos or bands followed by a jam session. In October 2023 a Jazz Jam Session and a Klezmer/East European music session are starting:
1st Monday: Jazz Jam Session, hosted by Jesse Molins
2nd Monday: Klezmer & East European session, hosted by Basil Bunelik & members of Družba
Last Monday: Not Only But Also The Blues, hosted by Mary Caffrey