press and reviews

July 8th, 2011 - Megitza Quartet on 91.5 WBEZ Eight Forty-Eight (interview)

Lucid Culture, New York

"Wednesday’s show by the genre-blending Chicago group the Megitza Quartet at Drom matched passionate intensity with innovation, roaring through an impressively varied series of arrangements incorporating elements of Balkan, Brazilian, tango and flamenco music. Frontwoman/bassist Malgorzata Babiarz used every bit of mystery she could summon from her dark contralto, with a subtlety that became all the more striking on the few occasions she reached back, turned up the volume and wailed. Acoustic guitarist Andreas Kapsalis showed off a fiery, lightning-fast, flamenco-inflected attack contrasting with accordionist Marek Lichota’s fluidly melodic runs while drummer Jamie Gallagher hung tastefully in the background, then rose to nail several split-second crescendos without a millisecond to spare.

They kicked off the set with a minor-key bossa nova number that morphed in a second into a rousing Balkan dance, Kapsalis pounding on the body of his guitar and delivering lickety-split yet surgically incisive flamenco fills. Their next song was a catchy dance tune that maintained the flamenco feel, like the Gipsy Kings for a more sophisticated (or more indigenous) audience. Babiarz then put down her bass as the band brought it down for a rather subdued, wistful take of the title track from their new cd Boleritza, building to one of the few dramatic vocal crescendos she took all night.

The most spectacular song of the night was a Kapsalis original, an open-tuned guitar instrumental titled Ethnic Cleansing. Chopping his chords furiously for a hypnotic, ringing effect, he built the song to a ferocious three-chord descending progression on the verse which was then interrupted by an equally hypnotic drum interlude. From there the band took it back for a long return trip through the verse and then that amazing chorus again. The crowd didn’t know what hit them.

Then Babiarz picked up her bass again for another dance number, vocalese swirling and blending with Lichota’s accordion. They breezed into a slinky, accordion-driven musette-inflected number that suddenly went doublespeed, and closed with a plaintive Polish folksong - “This comes from the mountains where I come from,” Babiarz told the audience - that started rustic and haunting before a seemingly endless series of permutations, rising and falling without warning, fueled by a catchy bass hook played on the guitar. The band is currently on tour: Chicago fans can look forward to a free show on Feb 27 at the Chicago Cultural Center."

 

World Music Examiner, Chicago

Nothing can better warm the spirit on a cold, winter’s eve than Megitza’s fiery energy and expressive vocals. The Megitza Quartet is a Chicago-based world fusion group founded by vocalist/bassist Malgorzata Babiarz, who derives her inspiration from an upbringing in the village of Poland. The quartet’s other members include Andreas Kapsalis on guitar, Marek Lichota on accordion, and Jamie Gallagher on percussion. Their December 30th show at Katerina’s in Irving Park enjoyed a full house, and the quartet had audience members singing, clapping, and dancing to their mixture of gypsy, Balkan, Mediterranean, Central and Eastern European styles—a majority of which are original compositions. Megitza, or “Maggy” for short, presented songs from the group’s debut album “Boleritza” (2008) that included languages and sounds from Roma (gypsy), Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, Macedonian, and Greek traditions.

While the group revisited some well-known gypsy tunes, such as “Opa Cupa” (Serbian) and “Chaje Sukariye” (Macedonian), their eclectic interpretations included Andreas’ flamenco and jazz guitar stylizations, Jamie’s claps and other impromptu rhythms, and Marek’s light and fluid trills on the accordion. Best of all was Megitza’s frequent exclamation “Opa!”, an expression of joy and encouragement common in Mediterranean and Balkan countries. As the group tours throughout the country, be sure to catch the Megitza Quartet locally or elsewhere for an unforgettable musical experience. (by Linda Smolik)

 

The Gypsy Trail,: The history and legacy of Rom culture in Chicago

The true Romani playing in Chicago include:
The Megitza Quartet: Led by the haunting vocals of Malgorzata Babiarz, this combination of stand-up bass, accordion, guitar and percussion blends Romani music, European folk and Flamenco, and captures the spirit and tradition of Rom music better than any new band in Chicago.
- New City, David Witter

 

World Music Festival Guide

Megitza Quartet Bassist and vocalist Malgoritza Babiarz, a Polish highlander, leads this local quartet with jazz guitarist Andreas Kapsalis, accordionist Marek Lichota, and drummer Jamie Gallagher. Though they can do a lot with that lineup, last year's self-released Boleritza also features plenty of guests, among them members of the Black Bear Combo, two violinists, and a clarinetist. The band's sound is a sort of cabaret fusion of several eastern European styles, arch and self-aware, sometimes wanky and sometimes lovely. —MK

 

New City Music

"Local Eastern European folk and gypsy act The Megitza Quartet’s debut album, “Boleritza” (Kaprol Publishing), was one of the most impressive instrumental compilations to come out of Chicago. The secret weapon is Malgorzata Babiarz’s sensual voice that sounds as authentic as the Polish Highlander tradition of the village from which she originally hails. Acoustic guitar prodigy Andreas Kapsalis adds elements of flamenco, while violin virtuoso Roby Lakatos and Marke Lichota’s accordion evoke the pathos of klezmer. Wrapped around this highly sophisticated blend of genres is a devotion to passionate rhythm and heart-rendering vocals, even if you can’t understand them. One part mournful, the other joyous, yet infectious all around, this is the kind of music people can’t help but get up to dance to. Seeing them live is reminiscent of a gypsy performance—chaotic, soulful, and stirring. (Marla Seidell)"