Amala ('Friends') was established by Traja Brizani, who has gypsy roots (his ancestors are from Kosovo). Before this he had played jazz, latin, pop and funk with numerous acclaimed artists in Slovenia and abroad. Brizani has recorded two CDs with the Amala group (gypsy music, dudum), who are a mix of gypsy and jazz performers. Amala has played at several jazz/world music festivals in Slovenia and has also performed in Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Ukraine and Austria. The band has also appeared in concert with Esma Redžepova, the queen of gypsy music, backed by a classical orchestra, pitting tradition against the modern. In 2007 Amala performed again at the Lent Festival in Maribor and at the international music festival in Brno, Czech Republic, and also gave concerts in Macedonia and Croatia.