Balkan Jazz Times

It seems to me that October/November period is the perfect time for jazz festivals. We have already mentioned London Jazz Festival, Sarajevo Jazz Festival, All that Jazz Festival in the Jazz Club, Zagreb...the cycle continue and we have plenty of things to see until Christmas time! This time I would like to concentrate on the Balkan area where we have plenty of events going on in this period. Recently we have had the opportunity to see many different jazz musicians in the Concert Hall Lisinski in Zagreb during the 17th International Days of Jazz, which took place from 23rd to 26th October. The festival included Geoff Eales Piano Solo (UK), Francesco Cafiso Quartet (Italy), Namaste (France), Dave Stapleton Quintet (UK), Mirokado Kvartet (Croatia), Nouvelle Cuisine Big Band: Mozart Revisited (Austria), Juvavum Brass (Austria) and a special guest - James Morrison (Australia).

More about these musicians (in Croatian): http://jazz.hr/dogadanja/ijd_program.aspx

Next recent event we had the opportunity to enjoy in was the 3rd Jazz ex tempore multicultural jazz project + workshops, which took place from 21st – 27th October 2007 in Opatija, Croatia.

This event gathered distinguished jazz musicians from different countries that spent one week in Opatija making music and composing several songs that have never been performed anywhere! Each artist brought a few of his own songs that were arranged during Jazz ex tempore and performed at the final concert. The highlight of this project was the whole-evening concert which included the pieces composed during this week of working together.

More about Jazz Ex Tempore project - http://www.liburniajazz.hr/extempore_en.htm

Apart from the events in Croatia and the already mentioned festivals, we have to mention two big jazz festivals in the surrounding area!

Yes, we are talking about Strictly Jazz Festival in Belgrade, which is taking place from 24th to 29th October, so hurry up and get your tickets!!! There will be artists from the USA, Mali, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Sweden, Israel, France, Wales and Serbia taking place in this festival. Some of the names we can mention are: Ravi Coltrane Group, Avishai Cohen Group, Maria João, Dee Dee Bridgewater, etc. Anyway, this is an amazing festival worth seeing.

More about this festival - http://www.belgrade-jazzfest.org/

And finally, we need to mention the Skopje Jazz Festival that had already passes and if you missed it, your loss! There was a Norwegian night including artists from Norway obviously... such as Susana & The Magical Orchestra, Sidsel Endresen and In the country

Then there was also a Flamenco Night which included Juan Carmona Grupo and Miguel Poveda Quartet.

More about Skopje Jazz Festival - http://www.skopjejazzfest.com.mk/schedule.htm

Enjoy the autumn jazzy events!

All that jazz3

This is a quick review of the ongoing jazz festival in Zagreb. Poor marketing brought this event as a surprise and we had no idea what was coming our way! Although not properly announced, we have to say that this festival is a cool event Zagreb needed to break the monotony.

The festival started on the 11th October with Valerija Nikolovska Quartet. Well, honestly, they were pretty good, playing soft, mellow sounds of jazz, a lot of blues and some bossa nova. However, no matter how good, the singer looked pretty uninterested in the whole event and behaved as if she were at home singing for her soul only. She didn't reach out to the audience, she just sat there and didn't give a damn. This is something you might dare to do if you are a huge diva, with all your mood swings, and everybody just adores you cause it's simply the genius you! You have your own concert in a huge concert hall and a standing ovation just because you showed up! I personally like the way Valerija sings but I think most of her audience that night didn't appreciate that attitude and responded with murmurs which made it hard to listen to the concert. The fact was that they weren't in a concert hall and couldn't allow themselves to act that way. Finally the singer's microphone died and the band was struggling to get it working again, on stage for several minutes, while nobody even noticed that the band was having technical difficulties and they weren't playing at all! This shows that not only the organization wasn't professional and didn't care about their performers, but also that the audience didn't take the band seriously. It's a pity because they played well, had a good repertoire, but they simply lacked attitude on stage which was appropriate for this kind of an event and location.

Fortunately the next day, 12th October, crazy funk band called Starch showed up from Switzerland! Actually, these young boys make a good atmosphere, play like crazy, rap and funk it up, besides looking pretty and seducing all the girls in the audience! :) Yeah, this was a nice treat! Drums, bass, keyboards, trombone, trumpet, sax, vocals,....all very good musicians and nice arrangements. If nothing else, they definitely made contact with the audience, included them in the performance, made the whole club dance and go crazy....it was fun! More about this band - go to their website -www.starchmusic.com

Another band I would like to mention is Denis Razumović Quartet. They also proved to be a high quality band playing their original tunes from "Razz's" new album "In Umbra" as well as some standards, like their own version of Caravan. My only remark would be that I didn't really like the drummer. From what I heard, he had no sense of dynamics and sometimes exaggerated in his drumming when not appropriate, his solos are unarticulated and chaotic without any sense, and not to mention that he obviously plays rock music in his spare time, instead of jazz. I didn't really appreciate it but many people did, so maybe I am wrong. Forgive me but I am sensitive when it comes to drums. Unlike the drummer, Razz kicked ass and I loved his solos! Hope to hear him again!

Anyway, the festival is still happening so come and here some concerts! Here's a list of the following gigs:

16.10. Tortilla Flat Trio (Austria)
17.10. Gyass Gypsy Bend (Serbia)
18.10. Fine Noise feat. Miles Griffith (USA)
19.10. Ivan Tiborcz Quartet (Hungary)
20.10. Johnson 3 (Austria/USA)
21.10. As Bruxas Fatais (Croatia)

And that's it!
Keep on jazzin....

Study and play jazz and Latin music!

It is time to announce yet another workshop! We had many summer workshops where you could study jazz with great teachers in great locations, and now the winter is coming with more interesting workshops to participate in!

This time it is a workshop in a small town called Benicasim in Spain, near Valencia, where you can learn more about jazz and Latin music with amazing teachers from all over the world! It will take place from 5th to 9th December this year and if you apply now you have greater chances in securing your place!

Benicasim is a small, tranquil town on the Mediterranean coast, with citrus trees and pine forest leading down to a lovely beach. After a day of intensive musical study, you can relax with a sauna or one of the many health spa treatments on offer before dinner, then head out to the evening concert and jam session.

The seminar features an international team of outstanding performers and teachers: Barry Green (piano), Julian Argüelles (sax and wind), Jeremy Brown (bass), Stephen Keogh (drums), Guillermo Rozenthuler (voice), Felix Gibbons (percussion) and Dave Mitchell (guitar).

This course aims to to offer high quality, inspiring tuition for instrumentalists and vocalists from all backgrounds, provide a creative environment where musicians can share ideas and learn from each other, develop overall musicianship - with particular emphasis on time, touch, tone and ensemble playing and to deepen one's understanding of Latin music and Jazz...

Learn more about the workshop, the teachers, program and the application procedure at:

Global Music Foundation

It's never too late!

The poll showed that sax is your favorite instrument, although the piano was quite close! Considering that it's my favorite instrument too, I've decided to share a story with you. Something that happened very recently and it was a big thing for me. Some know it, some don't, but actually sax is my secret passion. I started music school when I was 7 years old and I really wanted to learn how to play the piano. After finishing the primary school I wanted to change my instrument and start learning saxophone. However, my parents thought it was too expensive to buy yet another instrument and told me to stick to the piano. Which I did. But the fact is that this was my big wish and until today it remained something that I've always wanted to do but later on thought it was too late to start anything now.

Afterwards I met many people who simply started learning how to play certain instruments for fun. I know plenty of musicians who can play several instruments, with one that is primary of course. I met one Dutch lady, who plays tenor sax but decided to try baritone, just for fun.

I thought - Man, she really has the guts, to start such a thing in her age. Especially such a big instrument which is not easy to play! Then why on earth can't I? Honestly I've already given up on this dream of mine and thought I'd never learn. But this question remains - WHY NOT? It's never too late!

So I decided - I'm going to find a teacher and try it! There was a workshop for sax players recently held by one of the top sax players in Croatia - Sasa Nestorovic - so I decided to check it out. I thought I was going to consult him on some things. Like which sax to buy, which teacher to ask, how to do it, and all those things one has to know when starting. He was thrilled that a girl wants to play the tenor so he invited me on stage in front of everyone to try it! And there I was in a club called SAX (imagine that...), holding a Selmer jazz tenor sax, scared to death that I won't be able to play a sound and he's coaching me how to do it. After many squeaking sounds I managed to get a sound! And everybody clapped and took photos of this historical moment! This was a moment to remember and it made me really proud to know that my dream came true. I will definitely remember this forever!

This is only the beginning. The next step, get a sax and a teacher and kick ass!

So if you're wondering what it would be like to try something you've always wanted to try and never had the guts, TRY IT! You will love it and remember - it's never too late...

Jazzg3 - Zagreb Jazz Festival

I have been telling you about jazz festivals around, but never mentioned anything about jazz in Croatia, so I have decided to tell you about the 3rd Zagreb Jazz Festival! Yes, we have a festival too! This year, third in a row, we have the opportunity to hear great musicians from all over the world. Last year the highlight was the appearance of the jazz legend Wayne Shorter, along with Joe Lovano, James Blood Ulmer, Vernon Reid, Pee Wee Ellis and Brian Blade.

This year, Chick Corea & Bela Fleck who will perform on the 2nd November, Joshua Redman Trio, on the 3rd and Ornette Coleman Quartet on the 4th.

Chick Corea is one of the most important and most popular jazz pianists in the past 40 years, an influential protagonist of fusion jazz and a composer who includes ethno and classical elements into his music. During his career he has received 14 Grammies, two of which were for his album "The Ultimate Adventure" (2007). He will be joined by Bela Fleck, a virtuoso benjo player.

Joshua Redman is a popular tenor sax player of his generation, often compared to older cats like Dexter Dordona i Sonny Rollins. Son of Dewey Redmana, a distinguished tenor sax player who worked with the great Ornette Coleman, an important figure for avant-garde jazz, got his spotlight in the media right after the release of his first album, so in 1993 the Rolling Stone and Down Beat proclaimed him the new artist of the year. His colleagues Pat Metheny and Chick Corea, with whom he performed in the '90s, praise him as well. A decade and a half later, he becomes an equally huge performer and justifies all the compliments he was welcomed with when he entered the scene.

Being the initiator of avant-garde jazz and starting a new chapter in the history of jazz, alt sax player, violinist and a composer, Ornette Coleman, is one of the cultural icons of the 20th century. He got a Pulitzer prize for music, for the first time given to a record, Coleman's concert album "Sound Grammar", as well as a Grammy award for the life achievement.

As you can see, it is worth coming! Hope to see you there from 2nd to 4th November in Zagreb, Croatia!

Who is Mark Levine?

When I started learning jazz I asked my teacher to recommend me some good material to study from, considering I was only classically trained in music, to understand jazz better. She said - Get the Mark Levine book "Jazz Theory"!

I played the piano too, but only classical music, and I asked my teacher - How can I learn this jazz stuff? She said - Get the Mark Levine book "Jazz Piano"!

I started to wonder - who is this Mark Levine character?! Not only my teacher but other musicians and other teachers said the same thing. They even used some material from his books, so I had to check it out. I can now say that I possess all his books and I finally get it.

This guy made it much easier for everyone by writing books that bring jazz closer to people. I simply love the way he starts his Introduction in Jazz Theory:

A great jazz solo consists of:
1% magic

99% stuff that is

Explainable
Analyzable
Categorizeable
Doable

This book is mostly about 99% stuff.

There is no one single, all inclusive "jazz theory". In fact, that's why the subject is called jazz theory rather than jazz truth. The only truth is in the music itself.

Ok, so this sound interesting already. He's honest, and says it the way it is. He says that most of what he has learned is from the masters themselves, by transcribing directly from the recordings. He also learned from musicians that knew it better by spending time with them and learning from experience. I totally agree with this fact. You may study for years in various schools, through various books, but the most valuable experience is really when you learn from someone that has the experience and can show you how to do it.

Mark began playing jazz as a teenager in Daytona Beach, Florida. Continuing his education in Boston and New York, Mark studied with Hall Overton, Herb Pomeroy and Jaki Byard, before moving to California in 1966.

A key phase in Mark's education was a year spent in Woody Shaw's quartet. "Every night was serious school," says Mark.

Mark spent significant time working with Joe Henderson, Blue Mitchell, David Liebman and Harold Land, composing all the while. Joe recorded two of Mark's tunes on "Canyon Lady," the late tenor giant's only Latin jazz album. Mark returned the favor by playing two of Joe's classic compositions, "Inner Urge," and "A Shade Of Jade," on his 2000 release, "Serengeti."

Mark Levine has played/recorded with: Woody Shaw, Mongo Santamaria, Joe Henderson, Willie Bobo, Bobby Hutcherson, Moacir Santos, Freddie Hubbard, Cal Tjader, Wallace Roney, Tito Puente, Milt Jackson, Francisco Aguabella, Harold Land, David Liebman, Blue Mitchell, Pete Escovedo, James Moody, Art Farmer, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Fortune, Eddie Harris, Stefon Harris, Eddie Henderson, Conrad Herwig, Clark Terry, Ingrid Jensen, Charlie Rouse, Bobby Watson, Chet Baker, Philip Harper, Mark Murphy, Art Pepper, Julian Priester, Bobby Shew, Steve Turre, Madeline Eastman, and Poncho Sanchez. So I can say, let's hear what this guy has to say since many people already seem to have accepted his views anyway.


Check out more info about Mark Levine and his work:

Mark Levine Official website

Music wish

Don't you just love the smarties that come to you asking for music wishes? Yeah, like I know it all! I actually admire those guys who play everything people ask them to. It's incredible how you can have such a vast repertoire and be flexible about it. The other night we played at one fancy banquet and two of the guests came up to us and said that the lady who organized the event had a birthday and they wanted to surprise her with a song. They asked us to play a Tom Jones tune! We say - but we play jazz and bossa nova only! We don't know that kind of stuff! - Uhm. Ok. How about some Billie Holiday tune?
I didn't know what she meant, so I asked - You want one that she herself composed or her interpretation of some tune? I mean, come on! We play jazz standards. Better yet, we play early jazz stuff. She sang those tunes man...

Jazz people, luckily, don't have to take wishes - unless it's a jazz standard of course. But the problem is that people don't really know what jazz standards are. Even jazz cannot be classified as one thing. Jazz varies depending on the time period through which it evolved, so to ask a jazz person to play a tune that you feel like hearing now would be a difficult task. What if the musicians play fusion and you ask them to play Tin Roof Blues? Ok, they might know it but maybe it's just not their thing and they wouldn't want to play it. Every jazzer should know jazz standards but with so many of them, how can you pick a tune? Unless they have a real book or two to play it from! Cause you can't possibly know them all.

I must admit I love the fact that we don't play "covers" and that we are not so flexible. Especially if you are a singer. You can simply say - sorry, it's not in my key. :) If I wanted to be an entertainer who plays all kinds of events (weddings included!) with all sorts of music styles, then I wouldn't be doing jazz.

Anyway, this is the good thing about being a jazz musician.
We don't take wishes - we play jazz! ;)