INTERNATIONAL FOLK MUSIC:
primarily Hungarian, Greek, Balkan & Celtic but have recently bought Nordic, Israeli, Turkish (kanun & Sufi) & Persian (kamenche - spiked fiddle) CDs. Celtic favorites include, a Donal Lunny CD, a dual set called "Celtic Dances" and "The Best of Altan". I have an excellent tape by Sean Nua called, "Open Door" & have one CD by Bonnie Rideout, who plays a mean and wonderful Scottish fiddle!

CONTRA DANCING is great fun. Locally we have live music: a fiddle, dulcimer, guitar and/or mandolin, & bass or "washtub" - instruments vary with which band is playing. There is a caller who usually teaches the steps & moves before each dance: two lines - men on one side and women on the other, hence "contra". Bands have humorous names, such as, "Friend's of Riley" (Riley is a dog that once broke a window  which was commemorated on a T-shirt; he also provided the name for the band) "Smoked Mullet" (disbanded), "Guava Boys", and "Uncle Waldo's Ant Farm" (Florida contra bands).

POSTCARD COLLECTING:
Click on BAKONYVILLA to view my on-line Hungarian postcard collection and read about Hungarian wines. There are many links to unique Hungarian sites under "Favorite links."

READING:

PSYCHOLOGY
primarily Carl Gustav Jung
POETRY
Rumi and Rabindranath Tagore
PHYSICS
Michio Kaku "Hyperspace" Fritjof Capra "The Tao of Physics"
RELIGION
Buddhist teachings
          Christian mysticism
                  Sufi mysticism

RECENT CDs PURCHASED:
FEB. 1999:
The 7 (seven) CD Folkraft (Syncoop Ltd, Netherlands) set of Balkan & East European Music from Folkthings. An on-line folk crafts & music shop run by folk music lover David Henry of San Antonio, Texas (formerly of New York).
JAN. 2000:
"Uj Elo Nepzene" (Living Village Music Series) Vol. 1-6 from ETNOFON (Budapest, Hungary). Radio Tarifa "Rumba Argelina".
FEB. - APR. 2000:
Kalman Balogh & the Gypsy Cimbalom Band- "Gypsy Jazz";
Sandor "Neti" Fodor & O:kro:s Ensemble- "Transylvanian Village Music from Gypsy, Hungarian, & Romanian Traditions";
"Gazsa", i.e., Istvan Papp- "Transylvanian Folk Music";
"CSARDAS: Tango of the East";
Kalyi Jag- "Gypsy Love";
"Hungary and Romania: Descendents of the Itinerant Gypsies" featuring Bela Kodoba;
"Gypsy Dances" with Meta, Sandor "Neti" Fodor, & Kalman Balogh;
Janos Berecz- "Furulya Tunes"
Some might be from 1999 ...
MAY 2000:
"Gyokereink" ("Our Roots") by Eletfa (NY & NJ band play at the Hungarian House in New York)
JULY 2000:
"Nonstop" by Balkanarama (Americans in Seattle, WA play Balkan & Roma/Gypsy music)
DEC. 2000: 6 Macedonian CDs directly from Macedonia @ mister.com.mk
JAN. 2001:
Buying Markos Vamvakaris CD (Rounder label)made me realize I never really *heard* bouzouki music until *now* (I have listened to Greek music for about 25 years)!!
Bought my  first George Dalaras CD in 2001: "The Very Best of ..." which is no exaggeration. Click on ark21.com to listen to some songs on this CD. I had to ask myself, "Why have I not known about George Dalaras until now?" He has sold 9 million records & CDs and is a platinum and gold seller in Greece. Learned much more about "rembetica" on the East European Folk-life Center EEFC listserve due to questions I asked & after doing a web search. Quickly bought recommended CDs: "Rembetica: Greek Urban Folk Music"  and "Masters of Turkish Music" Go to rounder.com to read more and listen to some selections from these CDs, as well as "Gypsy Dances", "Transylvanian Music" By Sandor "Neti" Fodor & Meta, and Alan Lomax 2-CD set on Yugoslavian Music.

"Nordic Roots" Vol. 1 & 2 contains the best Swedish "hardanger fiddle" & Finnish folk music!! Wimme Saari (Finland) singing "joik" is very similar to shamanic chanting by Native Americans.
FEB. 2001:
George Dalaras:"50 years of Rembetica" & "The Best of George Dalaras" Glykeria "Rembetica & Traditional Greek Music" Vol. 1 & 2.
MAR. 2001:
Bought "Let There be Love" CD of Sufi music by Turkish musician Latif Bolat who now resides in California. Read about it at his site.
APR. 2001:
Bought 2 CD set by Alan Lomax on Yugoslavian Music (rounder label)
May 2001
Go:ksol Kartal "Taksim" (Kanun a Persian/Turkish instrument) CD, Ghazal "Night Falls on the Silk Road"
JUNE 2001:
Bought the following 6 Hungarian CDs from PassiOn-Music
Teka "Ha En Huzum Te Meg Jarod", Teka "Erdelyorszag Sok Szep Vize" (Transylvanian), Teka "Our Masters" (Transylvanian), Karpatia "Music from Moldavia", Kallos Zoltan "Busolni Soha Sem Tudtam (I Never Knew How to Grieve), Tukros Egyuttes "Hungarian Village Music" (Transylvanian), Csik Ensemble "Tiszta Szivel" ("With a Pure Heart").
SEPT. 2001:
Mississippi Blues CD: R.L. Burnside "Wish I was in Heaven Sittin' in a Chair." Bought R & B CD: "JJ Cale Live" with such great hits as "After Midnight" "They Call Me the Breeze" & other hits. CD by W. African musician & band from Mali: Habib Koite & Bamada. Last year: bought CD "Blues, Blues, Blues" Jimmy Rodgers & the All-Star Band, Chicago Blues at its finest. Johnny Rivers CD "Last Train to Memphis". All great and highly recommended!!!
Oct. 2001:
Okros: Bonchida Haromszor, Vujicsicis: Samo Sviraj, Best of 2000: Gypsy Folk Groups from Hungary, Piko and Band: O:rdo:go:sfu:ze's Zene, Bela Halmos: Az a Szep Hajnal (The Beautiful Dawn), & Kalaka: "Kalaka 30".
FEB. 2002
Radio Tarifa "Cruzendo el Rio".
MAR. 2002
Huun Huur Tu: "Orphan's Lament", "Kosovo: Music of the Albanian Kosovars", "Kurbeti: Music of the Albanian Gypsies", "Kruschevo" (jazzed up Macedonian folk music) by Stefanovski and Tadic, and "MONDO: Greece", best selection of modern Greek music I have yet heard.
APR. 2002
"Meditarranea" by Savina Yannatou (most excellent Greek female vocalist, sings songs from many countries of the Meditarranean), "Moroccan Spirit", "Mosaico" by Govi, "Platinum MONDO": best world music, "Rough Guide: Music of the Gypsies"
MAY 2002
"Songs and Dances from Albania" by the Tirana Folk Ensemble: the best Balkan CD I own. "Chinese Classical Folk Music", a 2 CD set by ARC Music. Click ARC MUSIC to browse their extensive selections of world/traditional music.
JUNE 2002 "Best of Greece" Vol. 3 which features the Athenians, Talking to Charos, and Romiosinos: a wonderful selection of Greek music (ARC Music).
JULY 2002
"The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan" a 2 CD set of music from Central Asia, China, & Persia. "Moon Rises Over the Silk Road" by Ghazal, another classic CD of improvisations on the sitar and kamancheh, along with tabla. "Best of Belly Dance Music: Egypt, Arabia, Lebanon, Turkey" by ARC Music: a good selection of Middle Eastern music.
AUG. 2002
"World of Gypsies" by ARC Music: a great collection of gypsy music from Hungary, Romania, Poland, Serbia, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Macedonia & Spain.
SEPT. 2002
"Running Roads" by George Dalaras ... another poetic & artistic masterpiece.
OCT. 2002
"Traditional Yiddish Song and Dance" a Music Collection International, Ltd from London, England available at http://www.vci.co.uk
NOV. 2002
"ARC Music: 25 Years Of World Music" a wonderful collection and samples of music from many of their best sellers: India, Greece, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa, Mongolia, Chinese, Klezmer, Russia (gypsy), Celtic (Ireland), Scotland, Salsa, Cuba, Bolivia, & Peru. A great CD at a great price!! Ranarim's CD "Til the Light of Day" which is delightful & charming Swedish folk music from folk tales & Medieval ballads. Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band CD "Agada" which is filled with the best clarinet, accordion, & improvisational music, and wonderful songs filled with history, emotion, & longing. Nordic Roots Vol. 3: absolutely astonishing!
DEC. 2002
"BALKAN BLUES" 2 CD set by Network: one of the best complilations/collections of this genre to ever be produced! "El Indultam Szep Hazambol"("I Left My Sweet Homeland") by Okros Ensemble with Alidar Csiszar, & Agnes Herczku, plus Kalman Balogh guest cimbalom artist. Besh o Drom "Macso Himzes": one outstanding CD of Balkan music created by Hungarians (if that doesn't beat all, don't know what does!). Ando Drom "Gypsy Life on the Road".
JAN. 2003
"Global Transmissions: A World Music Sampler" by Narada; "Music: The Art of the World" Vol. II, Sounds True Anthology; "World 2002" a 2 CD set by Narada; "Amalia: In Foreign Lands Since my Childhood" (Greek Smerneika) by Click Arhoolie . Altan: Once Again (1987 - 1993) a 2CD set (Celtic Music). Taraf De Haidouks, Romanian traditional music by Nonesuch Records. "Canto General" by the Athenians, Mikis Theodorakis, Stavros Xarhaokos, & others (great music) available at arcmusic.co.uk [one of my favorite labels for traditional music]. "New Ancient Strings" music of Mali in W. Africa, musicians are Toumani Diabete with Ballake Sissoke. This is primarily music of the kora, a harp-like instrument of 21 strings with two parallel rows. It is traditional music of the Mando people who once ruled Mali. "CSARDAS: Hungarian Gypsy Music" by Santa Ference and Gypsy Band. Click naxos . "The Heart of Cape Breton" by Folkway Smithsonian Recordings. "Rough Guide to Sufi Music" and "Rough Guide to Paris: Cafe Music". "Celtic Dances" which is jigs & reels from Ireland by EASY DISC. "Khevrisa" which is European Klezmer music by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. "Maska" by Glykeria (one of the most popular modern female Greek singers). "The Lion Roars: Live in America" 2 CD set by Hakim (Egyptian rai singer).
FEB. 2003
"World of Gypsies" Vol. II: Sandor Deki Lakatos, Lida Goulesco, Kalman Balogh, Vera Bila, Esma Redzepova, Ibro Lolov, Vassilis Paiteris, Valentina Pomomareva & others. Another winner by arcmusic.uk.co. EIGHT CDS FROM passion-music.co.uk my *very* favorite on-line CD shop : BEST SERBIAN CDS: "Narodna Kola", "Najlepse Pesme Iz Srbje" both produced in Belgrade, Serbia and "Srbija: Sounds Global" (Razni Iz Vodan) produced in Budapest, Hungary. HUNGARIAN CDS:
"You Can't Make Me" (nekemnemmutogathato) by Besh o droM and "Argyellus Kismadar" by Ecsi Gyongi & Hegedos. BULGARIAN CD: "Bulgarian Folk Dances" by Gega New in Sofia, Bulgaria. GYPSY: "DJELEM" East European folk music by this band from Montreal, Canada. NATIVE AMERICAN: "The Grand Canyon" & "Spirit of the Canyon" both CDs by Ah-Nee-Mah.
WOW WHAT A WAY TO START THE YEAR OF 2003!!!

AFTER 4 YEARS OF RECORDING THE MUSIC THAT I HAVE BOUGHT: I WILL STOP LISTING THEM HERE.

ANYONE INTERESTED IN MY CURRENT CDS: send me an email.
CDs I WANT:
Kalamajka "For Wine Lovers".
TRANSYLVANIAN HUNGARIAN TRADITIONAL FOLK MUSIC: especially the collections of Zoltan Kallos.
HUNGARIAN TRADITIONAL FOLK MUSIC: Csik Ensemble, Teka, Meta, Okros and Sandor (Neti) Fodor, Piko Es Bandaja, Tukros Egyuttes, Marika Miskoczy and Eszterlanc Band.
GREEK DEMOTIKA, SMERNEIKA, REMBETIKA, OR LAIKA: Savina Yannatou, Yiota Vei, George Dalaras, or Haris Alexiou.
BALKAN CD INTERESTS: Greek, Macedonian, Serbian, Croation, Albanian & Turkish Music.