Taraf de Haidouks - Band of Gypsies (2001)

Having appeared at Johnny Depp's Viper Room for the rumored sum of 100,000 dollars as well as in his film The Man Who Cried and as runway models for Yohji Yamamoto, Taraf de Haïdouks would seem to be running the risk of corruption, but their music remains firmly planted in the Romanian gypsy band tradition. On this disc they were recorded live in Bucharest, where they were once shunned because of the belief that their nomadic tendencies kept them from being truly Romanian. Joining the band, which is now up to 13 members, are musicians from Bulgaria and Turkey as well as the Macedonian Kocani Orkestar Gypsy Band. The music is as potent as ever, with majestic, organic arrangements and playing so powerful it's not hard to understand why these men have devoted their lives to this time-honored music.