Ivo Papasov

A towering figure of the contemporary Bulgarian wedding music movement, clarinetist Ivo Papasov earned international success on the strength of his influential jazz-folk style. Born in 1952 of Turkish Rom (Gypsy) ancestry, in 1974 he founded the group Trakiya, quickly emerging as the unrivaled king of wedding music ("Stambolovo"), the most popular Bulgarian style; Papasov's distinctive sound -- an improvisational, energetic aesthetic heavily influenced by diverse sources including traditional folk, film scores and cartoon music -- found its most fervent following among younger...