Lache Cercel and the Roma Swing Ensemble thrill audiences at East is East Chai Lounge with their unique sound. | Photo by Sonja Grgar

Roma Swing Ensemble has been an inspired presence on the Vancouver music scene since 1997. Lache Cercel, the band’s Romanian-born leader and violinist, sets the tone for the musical love affair between East and West that defines the group’s body of work.

Defying borders

Cercel, a classically trained musician, describes his band’s music as a Canadian invention that mixes his native Roma musical roots with jazz and North American musical sensibility.

While still living in Romania, Cercel discovered the work of legendary jazz musicians, violinist Stephane Grappelli and guitarist Django Reinhardt, and fell in love with the improvisational creativity of the genre.

Upon moving to Vancouver, he enrolled at Vancouver Community College to study jazz and to experience a North American approach to teaching music. He also began composing and performing what he considers to be a new world music genre he calls Roma swing. It blends Eastern European Roma music with jazz, klezmer and even Middle Eastern melodies.

Rather than simply representing other cultures in the diaspora, Cercel considers this original musical fusion to be a thoroughly Canadian genre.

“My goal was to bring people together, to break the borders between nations, and to introduce them to Canadian culture because the sound is Canadian,” he says.

Collective inspiration

Cercel’s inclusive approach defines the musical style of the Roma Swing Ensemble, which performs original compositions along with a large repertoire of classical and quartet music.

All of the band’s permanent members, as well as its frequent guest performers, are accomplished musicians. Cercel encourages them to contribute their own musical heritage to the group, which the band then infuses with Roma and jazz touches.

The group boasts a close rapport between its musicians, a family-like feel.

Guitarist Don Ogilvie has been with the Roma Swing Ensemble since 1999 and credits Cercel’s unique fusion of jazz, ethnic and classical elements for reviving his passion for music.

He says that the band’s 2006 album Musica Konkordo is an extension of the harmonious collaboration between its members.

“It was kind of a natural blending,” says Ogilvie.

In addition to Ogilvie, the band features another guitarist, Steven Nikleva, and bassists Sam Shoichet and Kyle Hagen.

Hagen accompanied Cercel and Ogilvie on a trip to Romania to collect and record Roma music and was thrilled at the opportunity to observe firsthand the musical roots of his band’s oeuvre.

Cercel and Ogilvie received a grant for the trip because they are working on a book which transcribes Roma oral musical tradition into written form, helping preserve its place in world music heritage.

“Music is part of our communication, and trying to in the end realize that we are all one nation,” says Cercel.

A breath of fresh air

Cercel’s devotion to inclusivity and collaboration is also evident in how he arranges his band’s music to allow each musician ample space for expression.

“We want to allow the instruments to breathe,” he says.

Hazem Matar, a Middle Eastern -born singer, oud player (a string instrument similar to a lute) and a regular Roma Swing Ensemble guest performer, relishes this egalitarian approach to performing that he sees as uniquely Canadian.

“I am comfortable to be exposed to the Canadian point of view. I like the way they receive my music,” says Matar.

Though Cercel feels Vancouver could do more to promote live music, he feels fortunate to have found a venue where the band performs weekly. With its ornate décor and warm eastern vibe, restaurant and lounge East is East is where you can hear Roma Swing Ensemble play.

It is the kind of music that is capable of bringing you to your feet and breaking your heart all at once. It is guaranteed to make you feel at home.

See Lache Cercel and Roma Swing Ensemble perform weekly at East is East (4433 Main St. &3243 W.Broadway), and visit http://www.lachecercel.com for more information on their music.