Rudyk, funny that you mentioned the Valentich brothers 'cause I remembered that before Tamburaland there was a website TamburaWeb that also had a discussion forum and I think that site was run by a certain John Valentich. Do you guys know something more about John Valentich and why did TamburaWeb disappear...? It was the first US tambura site I found on the web and it opened a whole new world to me. I was young and ignorant then and thought that tambura is only played in ex-YU.
And now about your question... It's impossible to give a correct and precise answer to your question. I'm under the impression that things for tambura music in Croatia are generally improving, new bands are formed and the quality of playing is improving. To tell you how many bands are here, that's really hard to tell. Practically every KUD has a group of tamburasi that are not neccessarily a band on it's own but usually play from good to excellent.
I remember that there was a time a few years ago when things and prospects looked very grim, but I really have an impression that things are looking up
(altough I'm usually more of a pessimist than an optimist
).
The main problem, in my opinion, is that tambura music itself isn't evolving... Ok, I understand that it's traditional, folk music, but only a few bands mix different styles and influences with their tambura music - NHT, Gazde, Slavonske Lole (I don't know if you had the opportunity to hear their "Sve je ona meni" version performed by the mariachi band "El Combo" that's recorded on their new album "Ledina").
The other problem is that tambura is pretty absent from the media, but things are also slowly improving there. For instance, there is a TV show "Svirci moji" which is dedicated to tambura music. Its host is Tamburaski orkestar HRT-a and maestro Sinisa Leopold and sometimes the orchestra plays orchestral pieces or accompany guest singers, tambura bands, klapas appear. I didn't have the opportunity to watch it a lot (only once), but it's a nice show and a nice way of promoting tambura.
Can you tell me more about the general situation of tambura in the US?
DISCLAIMER: Everything I wrote above is my opinion, if somebody else disagrees, please join this discussion... At least saky, c'mon man...
You were bitchin' 'bout tamburaland's forum turning into a "greetings forum" and now that we have American tamburasi interested in tambura music in Croatia on this forum you're not writing anything...