Ivo Papasov (clarinet) is a living legend in his own country, Bulgaria, and a phenomenon in the West. Born in 1952 in Kurdzhali, of Turkish Romani ancestry, he founded the band Trakiya in 1975 and their popular music style became the leading model of wedding music in Bulgaria.
Although his music is based on tradition, it is squarely set in the present, with eclectic melodies and dazzling technique. Admired both for his technical and his creative talents, Ivo is known for his masterful, wide-ranging improvisations, his stamina, his daringly fast tempo, his forays into jazz, and his charisma.
In 1987 a Bulgarian journalist commented that “the concert hall literally exploded when Ivo Papasov, the uncontested king, got on stage. It was the apotheosis.” When jazz pianist Milcho Leviev played a tape of Ivo to his musician friends, they said it must be a synthesizer.
Leviev says he never heard such integration of musical styles in his whole life: “my temperature rose when I heard him.”
Papasov is the subject of a number of documentary films, and collaborated with other Romani musicians on joint projects in Budapest. In 2001, he was featured in the Bang On a Can Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and won the BBC Audience Award for best European artist of the year.
In 2022, Ivo Papasov won the prestigious WOMEX 2022 Artist Award, one of the most influential annual world music awards.
Selected discography:
Orpheus Ascending (Hannibal Records, 1991)
Balkanology (Hannibal Records, 1991)
Together Again – Legends of Bulgarian Wedding Music, with Yuri Yunakov (Traditional Crossroads, 2003)
DrumBoy (Silvernoise-KVZ Music, 2004)
Dance of the Falcon (World Village, 2008)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.