Career
He leads the "Ivo Papazov Wedding Band" in performances of jazz-infused Stambolovo music, and is one of the premier creators of the genre known as "wedding band" music in Bulgaria, along with the violinist Georgi Yanev, saxophonist Yuri Yunakov and accordionists Neshko Neshev, Ivan Milev and Peter Ralchev. Together with Emilia they are known as Mames 2001. An orchestra that had great success in the television show Познай кой е под масатаn ("Guess who is under the table").
Papazov and Yuri Yunakov are briefly profiled and the recording of "Kurdzhaliiska Ruchenica" from their 2005 album Together Again is analyzed in the popular textbook, Worlds of Music, 5th Edition.
Ivo Papazov is a Bulgarian Gypsy and his original name is Ibrahim (Turkish name). He speaks Turkish and comes from Kardzhali, a city close to Bulgaria’s Turkish and Greek borders.
He grew up in a musical family and followed the Balkan Gypsy tradition of leaving school at a young age, in his case to focus on playing music for a living.