This festival opens with the joyous and intoxicating music of trumpet legend Costel Vasilescu, one of Romania's most important Roma (Gypsy) musicians of the older generation. Costel leads his band of lautari from Romania on double bass, accordion, cymbalom, violin and clarinet in a riveting program of wedding songs, dance melodies and ballads, which reveal the soul and passion of the Roma people. Costel, who recently gained international recognition for his playing on Ion Petre Stoican, Sounds From a Bygone Era,Vol.I (Asphalt Tango), will be making his NY debut.
