Culture
![Fishtank Ensemble](https://woub.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/fishtank-ensemble1.jpg)
Adelphia Music Hall to Host Gypsy Jazz Quartet
By: Mark Hellenberg
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July is a busy month for Los Angeles-based world music group Fishtank Ensemble. After playing several dates in the Midwest (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois), the band travels to our region this Thursday for a show at the Adelphia Music Hall in Marietta.
Fishtank Ensemble formed nearly a decade ago after violinist Fabrice Martinez returned from a musical sojourn across Eastern Europe to visit another violinist, Ursula Knudsen in Oakland, Calif.
The two subsequently joined forces with two other musicians with varied and far flung musical interests: flamenco guitarist Douglas Smolens and a Serbian rockabilly bassist, Djordje Stijepovic.
Since that time, the band has played everywhere from the hippest LA clubs to international festivals, street parades, museums and cultural centers, building a dedicated and devoted fan base across the U.S. and Europe.
This spring, after eliciting assistance from their friends and fans through a Kickstarter campaign (and after experiencing numerous delays and unexpected setbacks in the recording process), Fishtank released their fourth album, entitled The Edge of the World.
Guitarist Doug Smolens describes the project as “a dedication to the community of musicians and friends that have inspired and supported the ensemble over the years.”
Like previous releases from Fishtank, the program is geographically eclectic and genre-bending, yet impressively cohesive. The Edge of the World includes everything from Gypsy, Balkan, Turkish and Greek traditional music to the hot jazz of Django Reinhart, baroque music of Georg Friedrich Handel, original tunes written by band members and a hit from the Guns ‘N’ Roses songbook.
As their press release states, “Fishtank Ensemble plays 21st century dance music with one foot in the past and one foot in the present, all looking towards the future.”
The Adelphia Music Hall is located at 205 Second Street in Marietta, Ohio. Show time is 8 p.m. Visit thegalleymarietta.com for more information.