Jazz players from the Balkans play differently. They enliven the music with odd rhythms and eastern microintervals. Drummer Dejan Terzić is originally from Bosnia, Bojan Zulfikarpašić from Serbia. Terzic grew up in Germany, played with luminaries such as Joe Lovano, Roy Hargrove, Avishai Cohen and earned a professorship at the Bern Academy of Arts. Zulfikarpašić lives in France and is one of the few pianists who have used dissonant clusters (harmonies of closely placed keys) to add new colours to the piano and bring the instrument closer to an oriental feel. This is evidenced by his Bosnian ballads sevdalinka with singer Amira Medunjanin, or his collaborations with Algerian drummer Karim Ziad and Turkish flautist Kudsi Erguner. New Zealand bassist Matt Penman and American saxophonist Chris Speed complete the line-up. The quartet is a rare combination of distinct individuals, each of whom is also a great team player.
The work of Dejan Terzić and his Axiom is based on dynamics and surprising changes. Critics write, “The music moves from joyful to passionate, from passionate to exuberant, from exuberant to structured, from structured to sweet, from sweet to provocations, from provocations to fun, and from fun to introverted calm.”Matt Penman came to the U.S. to study at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, later settling in New York City where he achieved status as one of jazz’s most sought-after bassists. In 2009, he founded the James Farm Quartet, which also includes Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks and Eric Harland. In addition, he plays regularly with John Scofield, Joe Lovano and other luminaries.
Bojan Zulfikarpašić, known as Bojan Z., is one of the most distinctive pianists today and, like Tigran Hamasyan, combines jazz with the traditional melodies of his homeland. He collaborated with Bosnian singer Amir Medunjanin on the album Damar: “I was born in Belgrade, but my parents were from Bosnia and Serbia, so I was exposed to all those regional styles. I grew up in a musical family, which was quite normal in Yugoslavia, music was a constant part of life there. When people got together for dinner, there were always guitars and singing – and the sevdalines from Bosnia would inevitably make an appearance.” At the Respect festival, Bojan Z. performed in a surprising pairing with Breton singer Erik Marchand. In jazz concerts, he uses a combination of piano and Fender Rhodes electric piano, often playing both simultaneously, and is credited with inventing the Xenophon, a hybrid instrument based on the Fender Rhodes. In 2002, he received the French Order of Knight of Arts and Letters, the Django Reinhardt Award from the French Académie du Jazz, and the European Jazz Award in 2005.
Saxophonist and clarinetist Chris Speed is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, lives in New York, and leads a number of parallel projects (Pachora, Human Feel, yeah NO, Trio Iffy). He has been playing with Dejan Terzić since 2003.
