Romica Puceanu & the Gore Brothers ~ Sounds from a Bygone Age ~ CD
The "Billie Holiday of the East" was born in Bucharest in 1926. Throughout her life she performed constantly with her cousins the Gore brothers, who started setting up wedding gigs for Puceanu, and eventually helped her become the grand dame of Romanian Lautari music. The clear, minimalist arrangements of the ensemble leave plenty of space for Puceaunu’s brilliant voice. With cool "retro" packaging, this is the second in a series of East European musical nostalgia, but the music is as compelling as anything new you might run across.