Quick Facts
Biography
Ferus Mustafov, also known as King Ferus Mustafov, is a Macedonian saxophonist of Romani descent. He is a multi-instrumentalist and is highly popular in his home country for his repertoire of Balkan folk and gypsy, or Rom, wedding music. He is also credited as one of the artists from the Balkan region to have made this type of music internationally popular.
Biography
He was born in Štip, Yugoslavia, into a Rom family of musicians and is the son of Ilmi Jašarov who is credited with introducing the saxophone into the folk music of the area.
His professional career began at the age of seventeen whilst studying violin and clarinet at his local junior music academy. During this time he was invited to go on tour with a band led by Toma Črčev, the tour's success led him to abandon his academic learning to become a working musician.
Following a year of military service, during which he established his reputation playing at evening dances, he moved to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he took a leading role in the explosion in popularity of folk music taking place there at the time. Later, he became a director of musical programming in the Rom language for Radio Television in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, and gained an international audience through his album releases on world music record labels such as Globe Style and Tropical.
Discography
Albums
- Ora i Coceci (Horas And Belly Dance Music) (1984), RTB
- Ferus Mustafov & His Guests: 1 + 4 (1989), Diskos
- Najgolemi Hitovi (Greatest Hits) (1993), Falcon
- King Ferus also known as Macedonian Wedding Soul Cooking (1995), Globe Style
- The Heat of Balkan Gypsy Soul (2002), Tropical
- Legends of Gypsy Music from Macedonia (2008), Arc
Singles
- "Митино Коло" (1978), PGP-RTB
Compilation appearances
- Ring Ring 1996 (1997), B92
- The Rough Guide to the Music of Eastern Europe (1999), World Music Network