Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Joca (Mlinko) Mimika (ca.1910)

Another wonderful tamburitza orchestra from the old country. From the town of Mol, in Vojvodina, Joca (Mlinko) Mimika was one of the greatest violinists of his time (or any time!) His style of playing was very influential on many of the very early tamburitza musicians here in the United States. Many of these songs are introduced with beautiful, moving violin solos and end with vibrant, upbeat kolos. It would have been something to have heard his "Lire" orchestra play live in the kafanas of Vojvodina. I don't think anyone knows exactly how many recordings Joca Mimika made. You can find his records on many different obscure European labels. He was one of the most prolific recording artists of the time and what I have here is just the tip of the iceberg. I love listening to these old versions of songs that are still popular today. Some haven't changed a bit and others are completely different. So much time has passed since these songs were recorded that they have a fresh feel to them now. Maybe they just never get old.

Click the Song titles below to play - To download, right click and select "Save Target As" (or "Save Link As" if you're using Firefox)

No comments:

Post a Comment