The Veliov family descends from the widely linked Gypsy clans of the Balkans on the father's side and from the Turkish Romany on the mother's and their male members have always been professional musicians.
The family orchestra has a long tradition, in which the knowledge of the old songs and dances were passed on from the relevant head of the group, who always played the lead trumpet, to his son or grand-son. Thus, Naat's grand-father and father played the trumpet, while his son Orhan has the position of second trumpet today and Orhan's son, Neat junior, is already apprenticed to Naat. Traditionally, the former head of the group takes on the bass tuba, after having given up the lead of the group due to old age.
Alongside family members, then as now, close friends or neighbours also held permanent positions in the band. If, however, the occasion or necessity arose, these could be supplemented with additional musicians or other instruments from the sheer inexhaustible supply of virtuoso professional musicians easily provided by the musical network of the Balkan Romany.
Until the beginning of the last century the Veliov clan still belonged to the ‘itinerant people’ travelling throughout the Balkans. In doing so, the widely spread family repertoire gradually took shape reflecting the diverse traditions and musicals impulses of the hosting countries while at the same time constituting the specific sound of the family orchestra.
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 |  | the original kocani orkestar | |||
