Babaganoush

bands

BABAGANOUSH

BabaGanoush was founded in 2003 by Malini Chidzey, the band's charismatic leader and virtuoso violinist. She invited singer-accordionist Mark Planigale to join the group, and from their first moment of playing together, the magic of their combined talents was obvious. In 2004-5 the pair were joined by Colette Mortreux (clarinet) and Andre Lobanov (bass) to complete the band's lineup. Colette was replaced by clarinettist Aviva Endean for almost a year while Colette was overseas.

BabaGanoush's music incorporates many diverse influences, drawing upon the myriad of European folk traditions and also making forays into the realms of tango and bellydance. The band are led by their ears - following the sounds that they love without being overly concerned about musical (or political) borders. While it is difficult to describe BabaGanoush's repertoire in any simple way, most of the pieces have their roots in one of the following four musical genres:

Gypsy classics These are well-known Russian Gypsy pieces such as Dark Eyes, The Basso, Two Guitars, as well as more obscure Hungarian and Rumanian gypsy repertoire, all given the unique and quirky Babaganoush treatment.		Klezmer Klezmer is the traditional Eastern European Jewish music, full of mourning as well as excitement and joy. Klezmer is a huge genre and BabaGanoush performs a selection of wonderful pieces including doinas, freylachs and bulgars.

French cafe music Malini spent a year in France, much of it in Parisian cafes and bars performing with local musicians. She absorbed the culture and the atmosphere of the Paris music scene and brought back traditional pieces as well as original compositions in this vein.		Balkans songs and dance tunes We are using the word 'Balkans' in a broad sense here to mean the South-Eastern corner of Europe. The Balkans are the world's great home of irregular dance rhythms - 7/8, 9/8 and so forth. BabaGanoush love to perform these intricate and intoxicating tunes, as well as traditional songs from Croatia, Greece and elsewhere.

Malini Chidzey
Violin
Malini is a wild and fiery violinist whose Gypsy roots have overgrown her long and intensive training in classical music. Whilst her violin playing and improvising has a melodramatic touch from Europe's East, the music she has been inspired to write has a slight French hangover. Malini has performed with many well-known bands including raucous Eastern European dance band the Counterfeit Gypsies.

Colette Mortreux
Clarinet
Tired of classical music's strict conventions, Colette abandoned her many years of classical training to embrace the free and vibrant sounds of Gypsy, Klezmer and Moroccan musical traditions. Colette is one of Melbourne's leading world music clarinettists, renowned for her skill in improvising warm, sensual and quirky melodies. She performs with several well-known bands including the Klezcab Orchestra and Brahim Benhim's La Kasbah Moroccan Ensemble

Mark Planigale
Accordion, vocals
Mark is one of Melbourne's foremost Gypsy-style accordionists. Initially classically trained on piano and saxophone, Mark took up accordion in his 20's, and this prompted his intense exploration of Eastern European folk music. Mark's accordion style blends subtle accompaniments and arrangements, with virtuosic rapid-fire improvisations. In his singing style, Mark draws on his Croatian roots and his intimate knowledge of South Slavic musical traditions. He also performs with Balkans / Near Eastern ensemble Zarafa, playing a variety of instruments including oud and guitar.

Andre Lobanov
Double bass
Russian-blooded, South Australian born, Andre came to Melbourne in 2004 to study African American music at the VCA. Encountering a variety of influences, including Latin American and Gamelan music, only served to bring him full circle to the Gypsy music that he plays best.