About Taraf de Haidouks

taraful haiducilor (a.k.a. Taraf de Haïdouks) are a troupe of Romanian Gypsy musicians, from the town of Clejani, the most prominent such group in Romania in the post-Communist Era. "Haiduc" or "haiduk" is a word of Balkan origin which means something like "outlaw"; in Romanian it has a rustic or archaic connotation. Most of those who know the band in the Western world know them by way of French-speaking areas, where they are known as "Taraf de Haïdouks", since French lacks a genitive case. They are known in their native Romania as "taraful haiducilor". Roughly, this means "band of outlaws", but "taraf" is also the traditional name for a group of lăutari (traditional Romanian Gypsy musicians). The group formed in 1989, shortly before the death of dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu. The original group encompassed about a dozen musicians; later configurations were to include as many as thirty. Early contacts in the West included Swiss ethnomusicologist Laurent Aubert and Belgian musician Stéphane Karo. Some core members of the group: Nicolae Neacșu (violin, vocals)Dumitru Baicu (cimbalom)Ilie Iorga (vocals)Ion Manole (violin, vocals)Gheorghe Anghel (violin)Gheorghe Fălcaru (flute, double bass)Ionică Tănase (cimbalom)Constantin Sandu (cimbalom, vocals)Florea Pârvan (double bass)Marin Sandu (double bass)Paul Guiclea (vcals, violin)Marin Manole (accordion)Constantin Lăutaru (violin, vocals)Viorel Vlad (double bass)Robert Gheorghe (violin)