quark, kaval, and kulturcafe

Quark! I feel like I discovered a new food group. Quark (pronounced kvark) is a yogurt meets cream cheese dairy product, with a nutritional content more like cottage cheese. German's dig it. And if you buy the lower fat version, its pretty healthy (I hope). You can mix it with herbs and spices, or fruit, or you can just spread it on some hearty German rye bread. German bread is really good. Don't know why the French get all the credit anyway.

Kaval! The kaval is a wooden shepherd's flute from the Balkans. Its one of the oldest instruments in Europe. Last night I heard a performance by Theodosii Spassov, who is basically the best kaval player in the world. He was playing in a trio, with a drummer and a keyboard player, who were also amazing. They play this mixture of traditional Bulgarian music and jazz, which Theodosii invented, some describe it as a new form of music. They play songs in 4/4, 6/4, but mostly 11/16 time. Try keeping track of that. And not only is he a master of the kaval, but he also does this crazy Bulgarian scat, and sort of beat-boxes through his kaval. The end of the kaval is open, unlike a flute, and at one point he played the thing backwards. Crazy. After his set, he invited the opening jazz group, to jam with him. So they played some classic jazz tunes, stuff that they all new well enough, then he would just jump in and improvise. For an encore, he got up and played an 8 minute solo, without stopping for breath. He has mastered the art of circular breathing, so he can basically play non-stop. I am reluctant to put his web page up, because it just doesn't do him justice. His stage presence is also just incredible. You can see that he truly loves playing.
http://www.theodosiispassov.com/theo.php

Kulturcafe! Not only was the performance amazing, but it was free! It was at the Kulturcafe, a student run place on campus. On Monday I saw a Kurdish folk band there. Its a big open space, a lot like something you would find in Portland. The beer is cheep, and they apparently get some great performances.

Okay, I have to go now because I am out of exclamation points.