Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar Serbian master trumpeter Boban Markovic has led this amazing combo for nearly 20 years, and since 2002 his son Marko has been its main arranger and soloist; they're perennial favorites at the five-day Guca Trumpet Festival in western Serbia, where the stars of Balkan brass are born. This species of traditional brass music was born in the southern Balkans in the 19th century, when military marching bands (or their remnants) grafted their style onto folk tunes, predominantly of the Romany variety. The Markovic Orkestar employs a variety of percussion and sometimes violin or vocals, but its heart is a raucous, upbeat barrage of blasting brass that's beautifully harmonized, incredibly expressive, and simultaneously danceable and anthemic. The band has expanded upon the Balkan Romany sound with forays into jazz, Latin music, and klezmer, but always brings it back to where it started. You'll never hear this overlooked tradition brought to life better