review

MARA Ensemble

Mara Kiek/Vocal, Tapan,Llew Kiek/guitar, bouzouki, baglama Steve Elphick/double Bass Paul Cutlan/tenor and soprano saxophones, clarinet Andrew Robson/alto and soprano saxophones

Reviewed by John Shand/The Sydney Morning Herald
Harbourside Brasserie, February 22th, 2001

A high five indeed

This country has tended to consider cultural cringe a uniquely local phenomenon, when in fact it is almost universal, and merely the all-too-human trait of needing outside approval to believe something is worthwhile. The attitude to Mara! Is a case in point.

Some 17 years into the existence of this quintet (who uniquely blend Eastern European folk music and jazzy improvisation) most Australians would still say:"Who?" Meanwhile, the band's European profile continues to build inexorably towards the acknowledgement that is their due. Eventually we will catch up with the foreigners and Mara! will be widely hailed as a national treasure.

As things stand, Australian performances are rare treat between overseas tours. Here they were launching their brilliant new album, Live In Europe, recorded last year at the European Broadcasting Union Festival in the Czech Republic. Although this concert only spasmodically attained the heights of that captured on the CD, Mara! has long been at the stage where a lesser night, by its own very high standards, can still result in a special evening and a performance still sprinkled with sparks of superb music.

On singer Mara Kiek's Na Dolu, Paul Cutlan's typically stunning melodic invention on bass clarinet ran from shrill trills to evil growls, while saxophonist Andrew Robson set his saxophone tearing at the seams of the traditional Macedonian tune Sandansko Oro.

Mara herself was especially compelling on the old Italian song Riturnella and on a Persian love song, Tobiyo Timo Beneshyn. Here she squeezed meaning from the lyric - despite the language being unintelligible to the listener - like cherished memories being dredged from the brain. Steve Elphick's solo then sustained that mood over Llew Kiek's tender guitar.

The Ensemble really hit its straps on a rollicking traditional Macedonian piece called the The Big Dance, when the bass and Mara's tapan drum fused like a throbbing, big-capacity engine, to which Llew's bouzouki added the final drive. Over this the saxophones wailed - Cutlan's soprano solo interludes a frenzy of colour and light - while Mara sang with stunning intensity. Imagine how good one of their great nights is.