Les Yeux Noirs & the press
Columbus Dispatch
Sextet Sizzles on Third Trip to City
Propelled by violin-playing brothers, the Paris-based sextet Les Yeux Noirs played an intoxicating mix of gypsy and klezmer music last night in a packed Fawcett Center at Ohio State University.
The auditorium was filled for a reason – this was the third time Les yeux Noirs has played in Columbus. In fact, they were voted by CityMusic’s audiences as the favorite band ever to play at its World Music Series. Seeing that this is the local arts organization’s 25th season, it was fitting to bring back a fan favorite.
Alternating between incredibly fas and rhythmic instrumentals and mournful traditional and original songs, Les Yeux Noirs had many people clapping and dancing in the aisles over a nearly two-hour concert.
“It’s music for travelers,” violinist Eric Slabiak said of the group’s music, “so we wish you a good trip.”
For Les Yeux Noirs, their trip began in 1992. Brothers Eric and Olivier Slabiak were conservatory-trained violinists who dramatically changed their tune after hearing klezmer and gypsy music. They named their band Les Yeux Noirs (the black eyes) after a gypsy song played by jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt.
For much of last night’s concert, Eric and Olivier were sawing away on their violins, seemingly dueling to see who could finish a refrain quickest. This was taken to the extreme during the final encore – Eric fired away with fast fiddling, while Olivier slowed it down with some creak sounds, thanks to some electronic effects foot pedals. Then, Olivier and Eric sizzled as they simultaneously drew their bows rapidly across Eric’s violin. It was a neat trick, and better yet, it sounded good.
Also impressive was the Slabiak brothers’ singing – not only in French, but in Yiddish. Like their violin playing, their voices were in unison, and were often joined by guitarist Francois Anastasio. Of the songs they sang, my favorites included the Yiddish lullaby Yankele, the gypsy anthem Djelem and Yiddish Mame.
The rest of the band was up to the Slabiaks’ virtuosity. Anastasio quickly strummed out rhythms on his electric guitar. Elise Marie Blanchard played nimble rhythms and cool solos on her electic bass, while drummer Aidje Tafial deftly kept time without playing too loudly on a kit loaned by Columbus Percussion. Last but not least, accordion player Dario Ivkovic was the glue, joining the Slabiaks on many of the melodies.
Earlier in the day, Les Yeux Noirs gave a workshop at the Arts Impact School, executive director Steve Rosenberg told the audience before the show. The kids initially thought they didn’t want to hear French music, but once they heard Les Yeux Noirs, “by the end these kids were dancing.”
Rosenberg’s idea to play a chamber music concert in the Short North 25 years ago has resulted in CityMusic providing the community with two high-quality music series and assorted outreach efforts. We wish it a good trip.
Gary Budzak
23/01/09