The dozen-plus members of Oakland-based Balkan brass band Inspector Gadje come from all over the world. They’re serious students of Roma, sometimes known as “Gypsy” music, but none of them are actually Roma.
The group grew out of a collaboration between activist street band The Brass Liberation Orchestra and the non-profit Voice of Roma, which works to dismantle stereotypes about Romani culture, largely through arts and culture.
In this edition of Bay Area Beats, band members Marco PerisCoppola , who’s from Italy, and OfierUziel, originally from Israel, explain the band’s focus on both performance and social engagement.
"Gadje is a word that describes a non-Romani person, an outsider. And we all [in the band] are international folk that play Romani music. It's really putting it upfront that there is a relationship between insider and outsider, in this cultural exchange."
Inspector Gadje will be celebrating their album release with clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski at the Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco this Saturday night. They’re offering two pairs of free tickets for KALW listeners - to win yours, call (415) 841-4134 and leave your name and number.
