Maestros del Joropo Oriental

­The waltz was once as pervasive as rap is today, and took unexpected turns as it penetrated the world far from the salons of Vienna. In Venezuela the waltz mutated into joropo, a relentlessly up-tempo genre played on string instruments. Maestros del Joropo Oriental is part of a wave of Venezuelan players reviving a music that was near extinction, performing improvised arrangements on button accordion, maracas and various Latin American guitars. Lively and soulful, their music has the ring of folk authenticity, conjuring earthen floors in rural villages cleared of tables for a sweaty night of dancing.