Fanfare Ciocarlia: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Truth be told, I was scared. We’ve stuffed a lot of musicians behind the Tiny Desk, but when I saw Fanfare Ciocarlia (pronounced “fan-FAR-eh cho-car-LEE-ah“) at Globalfest the week before the band arrived at NPR, I couldn’t fathom how we’d corral these 12 musicians and their various assorted horns and drums into that truly tiny space. But the day this joyous Balkan brass band from the Romanian village of Zece Prăjini came to play, it was one of the happiest days I’ve experienced at our new building. From w