Malka & Joso

Today, Canada supposrts a vital world music scene, with artists who perform everything from Spanish flamenco to Yiddish fold. When Malka & Joso launched their careers, they were their own "scene" -- any song not performed in English was considered "exotic." Yet their albums for Capitol were unlikely hits of he 1960s, outselling many of the label's English-language albums. "At a time when folk singers sang as if detached from their bodies and emotions, Malks & Joso came on the scene oozing sexuality and passion, proving that while the words are important, how you sing them is what makes the performance 'art'" recalls the painter Helen Lucas. "Theirs was a partnership that legends are made of... they made quaint and nostalgic songs of the past refreshingly contemporary" "Many of their renditions became classics," says master guitarist Eli Kassner. "They made an immediate impact on the concert scene and went from success to success to become world famous."

Malka Marom, the daughter of a cantor, came to Canada from Israel, and Joso Spralja, the son of a fisherman, from the Dalmation coast. The two met in Toronto's Yorkville district in early 1963, at an after-hours coffeehouse called The 71. It proved a fateful meeting. As Joso recalls, "Often, at 71, I'd stay on to sing until three in the morning for other artists who dropped by." One of hose artists was Eli Kassner. "I used to go frequently and listen to Joso's marvellous voice." remembers Elis. "One day I invited Malka to come with me. She sang a few Hebrew and Yiddish folk songs and Joso instinctively hummed the harmony... their singing sessions were magical from the start."

Soon after they met, Malka & Joso were introduced to the Canadian talent agent Sylvia Train. "I had just received a call from teh Lord Simcoe Hotel. They asked me if I culd suggest some talent to open up their new club," recalls Train. "In two minutes flat I had Malka & Joso in my car and on the way to the audition at the Simcoe. They were wonderful, and were hired immediately to open that night. Then panic set in. 'We only know three songs,' they said. 'Sing them twice.' I said" The Lord Simcoe agreed to wait three weeks to open their new club with Malka & Joso . Three weeks was not long enough to learn and arrange fifteen songs, as the duo discovered when they walked on stage. Unsure of themselves and their new material, most of which was in a language that was essentially foreign to one or to the other, they clung to each other, and huddled close to the mike they shared, each desperately trying to read the lyrics on the lips of the other. Thus, their style was born.

"With Malka & Joso, one always remembersr the visual impact of their performance." recalls Helen Lucas. "Regardless of their very separate personal loves, they sang as if [they were] lovers -- looking at each other as if they had secrets we could not share. This made the watching all the more fascinating. We felt we were eavesdropping .. and we wanted more." "Joso was lean, dark, and mysterious, while Malka was a bird of paradise, hauntingly beautiful in vibrant plumage, [her] bblack hair framing perfect features," remembers the writer Sylvia Fraser. "The notes were so full and pure, each one seemed to hang in the smoky air and unnaturally long time before dissolving. Though I didn't understand the words, or the experience that gave birth to them, the authenticity of felling was unmistakable. They were an elegant surprise. No one else came close." Although Malka & Jos had seven languages between them, the only language they shared in common at that time was music. Since Joso didn't know English, Malka introduced the songs, translated thelyrics, and invented stories to supplement the short songs that made up a set. Her self-deprecating humour and dramamtic presentations of the material added dimension not only to the songs, but also to the personalities of the singers, and made their performance universal. This "filler" would become an integral part of their program.

In the summer of 1964, Malka & Joso played the Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia, Ontario, on a bill with Ian & Sylvia. The Travellers, and Gordon Lightfoot. By the following year, record retailer Sam Sniderman was anenthusiastic fan and recommended them to Capitol Records Canada's Paul White. Recalls White "I didn't meet with Joso at first, but Malka came in to my office and completely charmed me. She was gorgeous. I think [Capitol president] Geoff Racine melted as well. I went to see them at a Yorkville coffeehouse and they were absolutely great together, I signed them right away." In December 1964, Malka & Joso went into Toronto's RCA Studios with guitarist Rafael Nunez and bassist Fred Muscat to begin recording for Capitol. They recorded each song as though it was being performed live -- vocals with intruments in one take. The recording session went into overtime, producing enough material for two albums!

The first album. Introducing Malka & Joso, released in both England and the United States, garnered rave reviews. As music critic Clyde Gilmor wrote in the Toronto Telegram. "In refreshing contrast to many another contemporary balladeer, Malka & Joso do not specialize in suicidal dirges about lynching, chain gangs, mortgage foreclosures and industrial unrest. They sing about such imeless matters as young love, the serenity of shepherds and the way of a man with a maid." Malka & Joso's second album Mostly Love Songs , came out in late 1965 - just as the duo won an RPM Gold Leaf Award as the year's Best Folk Group.

Their third album, Jewish Songs, featuring Hebrfew and Yiddish songs, proved to be another bestseller. Their fourth, Folk Songs Around the World, featured "the best" of the tracks from the Malka & Joso recordings. It was released in Britain, France, Holland, and Italy. Soon after their first album came out, in the depth of winter, Malka & Joso went on a concert tour to the Northwest Territories, the Prairies, and the mountain country of British Columbia. "We were fascinated even by the names of hese places," wrote Malka in the Toronto Star. "You see, we both came from hot countries, and names like Cold Lake, Flin Flon, Yellowknife, and Fort St. John sounded romantic. So we collected thermal underwear and fur coats and flew to Le Pas, our starting point for twenty-eight concerts in thirty-seven days. Such audiences! They came from a hundred miles around.

In Roblin, Manitoba, we were the first live professional concert the people had ever seen. They were so excited, they forgot what a racket the heating system made. They had to choose between hearing us and being warm. It was a chilly 40 degrees below; still, they turned off the heat in the hall, while on the stage they placed a silent heater to keep us warm..." Joso's knowledge of the sea and boats came in handy at Campbell River, BC. They were booked to sing at Powell River, across the Georgia Strait, but a vicious snowstorm grounded their plane. Joso went down to the wharf, surveyed the boats tied up there, then said, "You see that little fishing boat? If her captain is a clever seaman, we could cross." The captain was: they made the 35-mile journey in four very rough hours, arriving at the theater in Powell River five minutes before concert time. Despite the obstacles winter threw in their path, they didn't miss a single concert during that 20,000 mile tour.

In the fall of 1966, Malka & Joso's "A World of Music" TV show followed the Staruday-night tradition "Hockey Night in Canada." The weekly CBC series took the duo's international repertoire into the living rooms of the nation. "In 'The Great Fold 'Scare' of the Sixties,' Malka & Joso were a rarity among those great artists." recalls Shelly Schultz, Vice President of the William Morris Agency in New York. "I first heard about them from Gordon Lightfoot, who urged me to see them. I went and, captivated by their sound, their personal chemistry on stage, and their repertoire. I booked them into Carnegie Hall, on concert tours, for club and TV appearances in the United States." They were favourites of Johnny Carson, Salvador Dali, and Samuel Bronfman. Before they dissolved their musical partnership in 1967, Malka & Joso were invited to represent Canada at a Royal Command Performance at the Canadian Centennial Ball.

Today, Malka Marom is better known as the author of the novel, Sulha, which received raise from Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Ann Michaels, and Nober Laureate Elie Wiesel, as well as from numerous reviewers. Joso is famous now for his restaurant, Joso's , which is among the most popular in Toronto.

In keeping with their harmony, Malka & Joso, married to their respective spouses, each have two children and both live part of the year in Canada and the other in their respective native lands. As part of tis celebration of it's 50_th anniversary in Canada, EMI Music Canada commissioned a study of its early years. The results piqued the interest of the companies executives in the work of its Canadian artists of teh time. Malka & Joso were among the most exciting re-discoveries. The result is Malka & Joso, Forever , and anthology of the best material from their three original albums.

In retrospect, the material, as re-mastered by Ted Carson of MusicLane, not only still sounds vital and exciting, but is almost breathtaking in its role as a groundbreaking instrument for the appreciation of music of other cultures, in Canada. In an era when 'World Music' and 'Multi-culturalism' are accepted everyday concepts, it is startling to contemplate the poineering effect that Malka & Joso's work had on WASP Canada in the early 1960's. EMI Music Canada is proud to release, on Northern Heritae Music, Malka & Joso, Forever .