Polish trio Kroke (Yiddish for Kraków) perform the ‘best of’ the band’s most popular songs from a stunning 30-year career. Formed in 1992 by three friends – Tomasz Kukrba, Jerzy Bawof and Tomasz Lato – graduates of the Academy of Music in Krakow, Kroke were initially associated with klezmer music with strong Balkan influences. Nowadays heavily influenced by jazz, contemporary and ethnic music imbued with their own stunning improvisations, the trio have honed a totally unique style which has attracted attention from renowned artists and audiences the world over.
In 1993 Steven Spielberg invited the band to Jerusalem to perform at the Survivor’s Reunion ceremony. An invitation to play WOMAD UK led to recording sessions with Peter Gabriel at Real World, and Kroke’s subsequent appearance on his Long Walk Home album, the soundtrack for the 2002 film Rabbit-Proof Fence. The Secrets of The Life Tree piece, performed by Kroke, featured on the soundtrack of David Lynch movie Inland Empire, and a meeting with Nigel Kennedy resulted in a joint work – the East Meets East album (2003). In recent years the band has also collaborated with Anna Maria Jopek, Edyta Geppert, Talila, Tomasz Stańko, Maja Sikorowska, Krzysztof Herdzin, Norwegian band Tindra, Spanish violinist Diego Galaz, Mongolian singer Urna Chahar Tugchi and Sinfonietta Cracovia orchestra, and has appeared at some of the world’s most prestigious music festivals.
