Modernized 'Les Yeux Noirs' group kicks off Lotus Concert series

There is an old proverb that says, "Variety is the spice of life." And it is true -- someone who enjoys a wide variety of literature is usually better-read than someone who only reads Victorian novels or sports magazines. Many believe someone who loves Italian, Mexican and French food usually fares better than one who eats exclusively at McDonald's. \nIf this saying is true, that variety is indeed the spice of life, then the music world has been "kicked up a notch," Emeril-style, by the emergence of Les Yeux Noirs onto the music scene.\nThe Lotus Education and Arts Foundation is opening its 2004 Lotus Concert Series with a performance by Les Yeux Noirs at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater 8 p.m., Saturday.\nLes Yeux Noirs, which means "The Black Eyes" in French (and taken from a song by jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt), is a band playing tunes whose genre is hard to classify. \nLee Williams, director of the Lotus Foundation, explains the music as being "a fusion of Jewish klezmer and Gypsy music." Klezmer music is a traditional Jewish music form with a strong jazz aspect. \n"A lot of the Klesmer players died during World War II, and their music suffered greatly. It was kept alive by a small number of musicians, however, and it is still around today," says Williams.\nMike Hicks, a publicist for Rock Paper Scissors, a nationally-recognized Bloomington publicist firm of which Les Yeux Noirs is a client, believes Les Yeux Noirs features more Yiddish music than Klezmer.\n"They get the 'Klezmer' tag because some of the melodies hint at it. The band wants to think of themselves more as Yiddish because of the vocals in some of their songs are sung in that language."\nWhatever the influence, the band brings together many different traditional styles of music, and adapts them for audiences today.\n"They modernize the music, introducing a full drum kit and electric bass," said Hicks. "Their songs are just pure energy."\nThe band's music broaches the question, "What is the relationship between Jews and Gypsies?" The answer is simple: both were persecuted by the Nazis in WWII, and although there is no definable geographical base for the nomadic gypsies, they mainly lived in Western Europe and the Middle East, where Jewish communities were, and still are, prevalent. As a statement released by Rock Paper Scissors succinctly says, "A life of exile created a special relationship with music for Gypsies and Jews."\nFrench brothers Éric and Olivier Slabiak, classically-trained violinists, founded Les Yeux Noirs ten years ago. Driven by the desire to introduce new audiences to these very old forms of music, they recruited six more people who shared their passion with the band: a cellist, an accordion player, a guitarist, bassist and a percussionist. They also found a player of the cimbalom, a traditional Jewish instrument that is struck with a hammer, much like a dulcimer or vibes.\n"The difference between them and traditional gypsy and Jewish musicians is that the traditional artists would never have a full drum kit or electric guitar or bass," Williams said. "(Les Yeux Noirs) employs all of these."\nThe band's music has a very lively, upbeat melody, often with a repetitious, dominating beat. The violin is prevalent in much of its repertoire, which features both vocal and instrumental songs. \nLes Yeux Noirs's 2002 album, "Balamouk," features a song entitled "Tchaye," which sounds very much in the style of a Spanish flamenco, with quick drumming and rapidly-fluctuating accordion notes. "Rozinkhes," a song on the same album, features softly-bowing violins and a Yiddish tenor. With a distinctly Russian influence, it sounds like something one might hear in "Fiddler on the Roof." "Guen Roma" has a Greek beat with a simple refrain any listener can sing without knowing an ounce of the language. "Trionica" makes the listener feel he or she is sitting in a smoky café in France in the 1930s, listening to existentialist poetry and watching interpretive dancers perform.\nThis seeming mish-mash of cultural influences makes sense within the context of the group. Gypsy music would be nothing if not for the music of the regions through which gypsies pass. Because of its "wandering ways," gypsy music examines and brings to light the best qualities of music from dozens of European cultures and adds its own, somewhat optimistic, philosophies to it.\nWilliams advises audience members of the performance at the Buskirk this weekend.\n"It will be loud and very lively. Be prepared to dance," he said. "We had Les Yeux Noirs here in 2002 for the Lotus Festival. People were dancing in the front by the stage. It was a fun time. Gypsy music has an intrinsic party element to it."\nTickets for Les Yeux Noirs are $15 in advance and $17 at the door. To order tickets, call Sunrise box office at (812) 339-6741, or visit www.lotusfest.org for more information.\nHicks believes anyone would enjoy Les Yeux Noirs, even if they weren't interested in world music. \n"They do a little improv and stage acrobatics … it is a very exciting show," Hicks said. "The virtuosity would appeal to students."\n-- Contact staff writer Andrew Welfle at awelfle@indiana.edu.