Not since the Incredible String Band have such a pair of eccentric multi-instrumentalists come along to explore the outer reaches of world music.

Throughout Strange Cousin and in their spirited live performances, TriBeCaStan (John Kruth and Jeff Greene) play over two dozen instruments between them, infusing their original compositions with the exotic flair of Indian, Moroccan, Middle Eastern, Celtic, and Balkan rhythms and scales, occasionally tossing a traditional tune from Afghanistan or Uzbekistan or a melody by jazz greats Don Cherry and Pharaoh Sanders into the set.

While best known for his frenetic “Banshee Mandolin”-style of picking, Kruth’s grab bag of instruments in this setting include mandocello, flutes of many varieties and cultures (including the Moldavian kaval), harmonica, banjo, royal benju, zurna, penny whistle, sheng, Uilleann chanter, bladder pipe, crumhorn, Kelhorn, gong, Indian oboe, and his voice.

Also a fine mandolinist in his own right, Jeff Greene plays many exotic stringed instruments, including the Afghan rebab, yayli tambur, nyckleharpa, six-string ukulele, kanun, saz, hurdy gurdy, and the koncovka and fujara (overtone flutes), as well as a myriad of percussion instruments, including the steel drum, frame drum, chromatic tambourine, guiro, tupan, khamok, and the Jew’s harp.

On Strange Cousin, Greene and Kruth are joined by a stellar cast of musical
luminaries, including:
—Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz, who has played with Kruth off and on for two decades, plays pocket trumpet on the free-jazz inspired “TriBeCaStani Traffic Jam.”
—Matt Darriau of the Klezmatics adds his trademark Klezmer-style clarinet and wailing
alto saxophone to the mix, along with the ethereal strains of Bulgarian kaval and
Bulgarian gaida (small bagpipe).
—The Moroccan percussionist Brahim Fribgane (most often seen with Gnaoui
musician Hassan Hakmoun and Adam Rudolph’s Go Organic Orchestra) adds intricate poly-rhythms throughout the album on riq, darbuka, bender, dumbek, and frame drum.
—Alt-country star Jolie Holland’s haunting voice weaves in and out of the Sonny
Sharrock number “Many Mansions,” while her eerie box fiddle elevates the Celtic-
inspired jig “Bottle Man” to a transcendental level.
—The great jazz trombonist Steve Turre (once a member of Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s Vibration Society) also adds his unique voice on conch shells.

Produced by Kruth and Greene, Strange Cousin was recorded and engineered by
John Bosch at Ground Control Studios in Brooklyn, NY, during the spring of 2008.
The album was mixed and mastered by Atlantic Records engineer Gene Paul and
Jamie Polaski at DB Plus in NYC.

Although the members of TriBeCaStan live in New York City, be on the lookout for upcoming performances of their otherworldly music on your part of the globe.












































STRANGE COUSIN
© 2009 EverGreene Music

Album available online at:








Read the Strange Cousin press release (May 24, 2009), including photos and other information, at Rock Paper Scissors.

John Kruth is also a prolific solo artist. Visit his EverGreene Music artist page or his
own artist website for more information about his music, including his most recent 2008 release, Splitsville.

Jeff Greene is also a performing member of EverGreene Music artists Port O' Monkeys. Visit their artist page for more information on their exciting 2009 release, The Crossing.










































JANUARY 15, 2010
TriBeCaStan featured on Mondomix Music

TriBeCaStan's Strange Cousin is featured as this week's Discovery from the
Americas on Mondomix Music.com, a National Geographic-affiliated world music
site based in Paris. Read the full article here.


JANUARY 11, 2010
TriBeCaStan to release new album 5 Star Cave in April 2010

TriBeCaStan's latest effort, 5 Star Cave, is set to release on April 13, 2010. Like the previous album Strange Cousin, this collection of songs sees Greene and Kruth continuing their relentless quest to re-imagine the folk music of the world, with an
all-star cast of musicians including veteran jazz trombonist Steve Turre, Blood
Sweat and Tears founder Al Kooper, jazz tabla player Badal Roy, Samantha
Parton of the Be Good Tanyas, Kenny Margolis of Cracker, bass player Mike
DuClos, violinist Charlie Burnham, Sufi percussionist Ibrahim Gonzalez, drummer/percussionist Todd Isler, vocalist Dean Bowman, gypsy guitarist Hara
Garacci, and champion cimbalom player Gordana Evacic.

Read the press release for 5 Star Cave at Rock Paper Scissors.

Stay tuned for more information about this exciting release.


JANUARY 1, 2010
TriBeCaStan :: Live on WBAI 99.5 FM NYC

In case you were sleeping through it all, which I hope you had enough good sense
to, here is our "shamanic alarm clock" wake up call for the New Year, in all it's ragged glory. We talked, played a couple “strange” instruments, and previewed songs from our soon-to-be released second album, 5 Star Cave.

New Year’s Day WBAI 99.5 FM at 7am

Jeff Greene—Jew's harp nyckleharpa, and Chinese flute
John Kruth—mandolin, penny whistle, and Andalusian shepherd flutes
Ibrahim Gonzalez—halo


AUGUST 27, 2009
Strange Cousin Reviewed in Huffington Post

Ian Merkel of Modiba, a social-activist international music company based in New York City, wrote a wonderful article, “TriBeCaStan In Manhattan Unleashes Uzbek Lutes, Pakistani Taxi Horns, And Six Foot Shepherd's Pipes,” for the Huffington Post.

"Welcome to TriBeCaStan, a country without borders tucked away in a corner of
downtown Manhattan.

"Trying to describe TriBeCaStan's music or relegating it to a genre would be incredibly difficult, and, as the artists would contend, futile. Greene commonly describes it as intergalactic, but not so much in the Sun Ra extraterrestrial kind of way. This music is really about the cross-fertilization of musical idioms that Kruth and Greene have been exposed to in their travels, and the ways in which these idioms allow them to express
the diversity that surrounds them in their very own New York. Some have asked why
they play 'peasant music in an affluent zip code,' and their music has responded with
the idea that homogeny is neither representative for our present nor characteristic of
a progressive future."

Read the full article HERE.


JUNE 30, 2009
TriBeCaStan's Strange Cousin Featured on WNYC

"Raphaella," "Sunda Sunday," and "The Bottle Man" were played on today's edition of WNYC's New Sounds show, hosted by Jon Schaeffer.

You can read more about the show and stream the entire program HERE.


NOVEMBER 2008
TriBeCaStan to Release Strange Cousin

EverGreene Music is proud to announce the upcoming release of TriBeCaStan's first album, Strange Cousin. In addition to regulars Jeff Greene and John Kruth playing dozens of instruments between them, the album features a stellar cast of performers, including Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz, Matt Darriau of the Klezmatics, Moroccan percussionist Brahim Fribgane, alt-country star Jolie Holland, and jazz trombonist Steve Turre.

Album available online January 24, 2009 at:













































Follow TriBeCaStan and view photos and other exclusive content at these websites:



Visit Rock Paper Scissors to read the latest press release for 5 Star Cave.


". . . One of those serendipitous projects, the outcome of chance encounters . . .
When TriBeCastan is firing on all cylinders it does what it set out to do: make a 'cross-cultural crossroads' sound natural, flexible, and easy, a music like any other folk
music."
—Deanne Sole, Pop Matters (September 16, 2009)

"Strange Cousin builds relationships between unfamiliar international musical
relatives . . . A unique sonic combination of African flute and Slovakian shepherd's
pipe . . . honor [Roland Kirk's] adventurous and playful spirit."
—Chris M. Slawecki, All About Jazz (September 1, 2009)

"The beauty of this music is that, at the same time that it might seem chaotic, it is also accessible. It comes out of the kind of jazz that employed folk melodies. It encourages
you to hum along. And at the same time that it unsettles your notions of place, it
invites you to partake in a more human modernity. The distinctive musical subcultures
of TriBeCaStan often have their own sacred traditions, and, as a composite, Greene
and Kruth's synthesis certainly reflects a broader vision."
—Ian Merkel, Modiba, Huffington Post (August 27, 2009)

"Playing off each other’s move, Greene and Kruth trade jabs as if they were
performing for tips on a Sunday afternoon at your favorite park. Peppered with
liveliness and a sense of ease, they thrive on their gelling musings . . . TriBeCaStan
is here to show us just how much fun a good time can be."
—Bryan Sanchez, Adequacy.net (August 27, 2009)

"If the world had a soundtrack, Strange Cousin would be it."
—Matthew Forss, Inside World Music (August 16, 2009)

"The uniqueness of instruments such as the bendir, darbuka, koncovka, tupan, and Bulgarian kaval create a unique sound to be sure . . . TriBeCaStan playing music
you haven't yet heard!"
—Boston Post-Gazette (August 14, 2009)

"These upstarts—principally John Kruth and Jeff Greene, multi-instrumentalists,
both—don't take their national mythology to such lengths as their British
predecessors, but they share the same love of strange acoustic instruments, exotic rhythms, and a good dose of humor . . . This kind of crisp, intelligent, curious
instrumental music will always have a place in my ears."
—SoundRoots (August 12, 2009)

"Inventive, energetic, and vigorously different, Strange Cousin beckons to the
world-traveled listener that is weary of standard pop fare."
—Smother (August 10, 2009)

"Wood, metal, bone, shells, and skin come alive, inspiring ethno-exercises which
conga down and gypsy up."
—Maximum Ink (August 6, 2009)

"Most of the tunes skitter and sway, instrumental arms akimbo, making it easy to
visualize the group parading through TriBeCaStan (as they did when the band was conceived on World Jug Band Day). But even in its recorded incarnation it's well
worth visiting this country."
—Li Robbins, The Globe & Mail (July 27, 2009)

"You don’t have to go out on a limb to guess Strange Cousin was created with a
whole lot of musical knowledge, an equal amount of skill, a healthy dose of humor
and perhaps an unspoken determination . . . These clever and musically solid
instrumental pieces are pleasures all. Put Tribecastan on your travel itinerary. And
if you can’t, buy the CD."
—World Music Central (July 25, 2009)

"TriBeCaStan defies preconcieved notions about ethno obsessed 40-something westerners . . . Highly recommended for people who want to break free of the sterile
world music and free jazz marriages."
—Undomondo (July 22, 2009)

"They reveal a sense of humor, such as on the number 'Tribecastani Traffic Jam,'
with the honks and hoots of the horns forming the perfectly impatient car sounds.
The two know their traditional music well, and while the compositions are original, the music doesn’t drift far from the its roots. A well-played and -arranged (and, most importantly, fun) collection of music from across the globe."
—Dirty Linen (July 20, 2009)

"The brainchild of accomplished New York based musicians John Kruth and Jeff
Greene, TriBeCaStan synthesizes urban folk sounds from all over the world into a
playful, eclectic mix."
—This Week's Best Albums, ALARM Magazine (July 14, 2009)

"This is definitely a strange album, also a very clever, entertaining and playful one, ostensibly showcasing the music of the tiny and fascinating nation of TriBeCaStan
. . . Bolstered by a like-minded cast of adventurers including oud master Brahim
Fribgane, gypsy jazz pioneer Matt Darriau and seashell virtuoso Steve Turre, they
have a boisterously good-natured out-of-the-box sensibility much in the same vein
as sprawling avant-gypsy/klezmer/reggae improvisers Hazmat Modine. To say that
there’s something for everybody here would be the understatement of the
millennium."
—Lucid Culture (July 13, 2009)

"Ethnic music from a place in the back of your head, this wild ‘world beat’ ride is a
real hoot, especially if you have the chops to be in on the joke. Crazy fun sure to
plant the nuttiest grin on the face of any over aged smart ass that still has a wild
streak buried under all that yuppie vestige."
—Chris Spector, Midwest Record (June 11, 2009)

"There's certainly something of Cherry's Multikulti project about it, as well as a bit
of Bill Frisell's global jazz-folk, but really this collaboration with percussionist Jeff
Greene (plus assorted guests) has a playful sound all of its own . . . Such
conceptual mischievousness brings to mind the 3 Mustaphas 3 and certainly the
wonderful array of instruments featured (Pakistani taxi horn and Andalusian
shepherd flute to name but two) would bring a smile to the be-fezzed faces of
Szegerely's finest, as would the sleevenotes' salutation "May all the gods smile
upon you at once without your skull exploding". Underpinning all this good-natured surrealism is some very fine playing, consistently interesting arrangements and a
few sneakily infectious melodies."
—Jamie Renton, fRoots Magazine UK (May 1, 2009)

"The all-instrumental Strange Cousin is a logical outgrowth of previous Kruth albums
on tracks that explore droning tonalities and frisky bazaar beats. No mere exercise in exoticism, the material works as songs, the traditional music of a make-believe land, enriched by intriguing combinations of mandolin and Moldavian kaval, penny whistle
and wooden flutes and instruments better known in these parts to ethnomusicologists
than anyone else."
—David Luhrsson, Express Milwaukee (April 21, 2009)