MoonJune Records is pleased to feature on the label the first artist born in Bosnia & Herzegovina,a native land of MoonJune’s honcho Leonardo Pavkovic: drummer, composer, arranger, educatorSRDJAN IVANOVIC, based in Paris, France.
SLEEPING BEAUTY albumis out now
Everything is a source of pleasure in this album: the magic of the trumpet, the candor of the flute, the inventiveness of the drums and bass, the lyricism of the guitar. – Jean-Claude Vantroyen, Le Soir (Belgium)
Ivanović feels the breadth of jazz, and through the mix of musicians from different parts of the continent, he seems to want to send a message about how much this genre today represents a universal musical language, connecting kindred souls by feeling, emotion, inclination towards beauty, or towards discovering beauty….’ – Voja Pantic, Politika (Serbia)
‘Sleeping Beauty’ is a romantic, reflective, sensual-associative-emotional album. Nowadays, we probably need such sounds, so it’s really worth going to this fairy-tale land, if only to take a deep breath. – Marcin Pulawski, Laboratorium MF (Poland)
Lyrical, devilishly nuanced, sewn with musical subtleties. – Xavier Prévost, Les Dernières Nouvelles du Jazz (France)
A ‘five-member’ ensemble, the International Blazin’ Quartet is led by Bosnian born and Paris, France, based drummer, composer, arranger and educator Srdjan Ivanovic. Blazin’ Quartet and their special guest maestro flutist Magic Malik, delivers on their 4th studio album ‘Sleeping Beauty’, a very profound, organic, timeless and articulate sound. Nine tracks of unpredictable, potent, refreshingly divorced from the sonic status quo while exceedingly brilliant creative mettle are offered, awaiting for the attentive listener’s pleasure.
Seldom does such an ensemble jazz cast weave so seamlessly, yet play with such heartfelt emotion, conviction and, at times, abandon. With an inherent, extraordinary chemistry on display, moments of the most rare, exquisite beauty materialize while ascending to the fore. A delightful, resounding lack of pretense, combined with abounding imagination and sparkling, upper-echelon performances, contributes to an album that’s as fresh and ingenious as ensemble jazz gets, from every facet.
Praised by Downbeat Magazine as “a band that twists and tweaks conventions” Blazin’ Quartet has been pushing the boundaries of improvised, ethnographies and electronic jazz since it’s creation in Amsterdam in 2008.
The multi-national Blazin’ Quartet features Srdjan Ivanovic (Bosnia & Herzegovina; drums, keyboards, compositions, arrangements) Andreas Polyzogopoulos (Greece; trumpet), Federico Casagrande (Italy; guitar), Mihail Ivanov (Bulgaria; double bass), and special guest Magic Malik (Ivory Coast; flute).
