ASTRID KULJANIĆ & The TransAtlantic Exploration Company – Riva / OneTrickDog Records, 2017 / CD, digital / world music, jazz / Croatia, USA
Vokalistkinja, Astrid Kuljanić, predstavila je novi jazz / balkanski folk album. Astrid Kuljanić objavit će (zvanično) svoj novi projekt nastao pod utjecajem tradicionalnog pučkog i jazz izraza 24. oktobra 2017. godine uz pratnju multi-nacionalne i multi-kulturne grupe muzičara – The TransAtlantic Exploration Company. Iskoristivši različite muzičke kulture koje sreće u New Yorku, Astrid Kuljanić je istraživala jazz, Klezmer, brazilsku i indijsku klasičnu muziku. Sa albumom, “Riva“, ona se vraća svojim korijenima istražujući jedinstvenu narodnu muziku priobalne Hrvatske i njenih otoka.
Album “Riva” sadrži neke hrvatske narodne pjesme, do frenetičnih karipskih ritmova i standarda izvedenih u balkanskim neparnim ritmovima, pojačanih elektronskim efektima punih atmosfere, ili “ogoljenih” do minimalizma, uz bass i glas. Album “Riva” predstavlja raskršće i spajanje raznih muzičkih tradicija što se moglo naći i u Kuljanićevom ranijem radu i to je dokaz njenog uvjerenja u moć muzike koja može da stvori veze između raznih geografskih i kulturnih dijelova svijeta. Astrid Kuljanić rado citira Mariju Schneider i time opisuje ono što osjeća – “univerzalna sila za dobro koja je u muzici, to je najmanje korišten resurs za mir, napredak, razvoj djeteta i diplomaciju u svijetu“. Pjesme na album “Riva” obogaćene su interaktivnom improvizacijom i ritmičkim intenzitetom nastalim neobičnim instrumentalizacijskim i raznovrsnim muzičkim uticajima članova njenog benda.
Bend, The TransAtlantic Exploration Company predstavlja kombinaciju (fuziju) različitih muzičkih tradicija. Njegovi članovi potiču iz Hrvatske, Brazila, SAD (Seattle i New York). Redovno nastupaju izvodeći originalnu Kuljanićevu muziku u aranžmanima jazza i brazilskih standarda, te tradicionalne i popularne pjesme iz Istočne Europe. Bend je razvio među-kulturni stil i snažnu muzičku vezu. Bend The TransAtlantic Exploration Company čine – Astrida Kuljanić (vokal) ; Ben Rosenblum (harmonika) ; Mat Muntza (bass) Rogera Boccata (perkusije).
Astrid Kuljanić i njen bend redovito nastupaju diljem Europe i Amerike na raznim muzičkim događajima i na festivalima, uključujući Gramercy Theater, Waldorf Astoria i Golden Festival (New York), Mendocino Music Festival (California), Earshot Jazz Series (Seattle), JZ Jazz Club (China), Kapoics Valley of Arts Festival and Ordogktatlan (Hungary), Teatro O’Nariz (Portugal), Lent Festival Maribor (Slovenia), KD Lisinski i Muzej suvremene umjetnosti Zagreb, Špancirfest i Liburnia Jazz (Hrvatska). Posljednje vijesti kazuju – Astrid Kuljanić & The TransAtlantic Exploration Company predstavit će svoje aktuelno diskografsko izdanje, album “Riva“, u glasovitom Carnegie Hallu (koncertna dvorana smještena na Manhattanu, New York, USA) – 24. oktobra 2017. godine.
O pjesmama na albumu, “Riva“, Astrid Kuljanić kazuje: “Na albumu ‘Riva’ nalazi se devet pjesama koje su ‘mish mash’ (jedno uz drugo) onoga što bi se nazvalo jazz i world music. Na albumu su dvije obrade creskih i lošinjskih folklornih pjesama u karipskim groovovima te brazilski i jazz standardi u malo pomaknutim interpretacijama, jedna snimka nastupa s korištenjem live elektronike i dva dueta u varijanti glas i kontrabas u kojima smo do kostura ogolili prekrasne kompozicije ‘Portrait’ Charlesa Mingusa i ‘Wild Is The Wind’ Dimitrija Tiompkina.“
Ima već podosta vremena kako sam dobio ponudu da recenziram album “Riva“. Spletom nekih okolnosti, za to nije bilo prlike ranije i konačno, prihvatio sam se tog prijatnog posla. Prva pjesma koju na albumu izvode Astrid Kuljanić & The TransAtlantic Exploration Company, “Oj vi mlade” neodoljivo me podsjetila na ono što rade Tamara Obrovac & The TransAdriatic Quartet. Srećom, bio je to tek prvi utisak. Ubrzo sam shvatio da Astrid Kuljanić sa svojom muzikom ide mnogo “šire“. Ima i kod Astrid dosta Istre, njenog melosa, ali…
Nastavak slušanja ovog materijala donio je ono što je rezultat bogatstva koji pruža život u multi-nacionalnom i multi-kulturnom okruženju – u New Yorku. Neosporno, takva sredina donosi kvalitet i u svakodnevnom životu, u susretima sa ljudi raznih nacija i svetonazora. Tako se i sluša muzika sa raznih strana svijeta. Tko da se odupre tom miksu, tko da ostane određen samo na svoje rodne korjene? Malo tko.
Život u Bosni i Hercegovini, među narodom iz više zemalja koji sobom nosi svoje kulturno nasljeđe, radeći za UNHCR, među narodom iz cijelog svijeta, radeći u Aziji, među narodom iz Sjedinjenih Američkih Država, Meksika, Indije, Kenije, Nepala, Afghanistana.. – sraz tih raznih kultura – još više me je ubijedio u naprijed izneseni stav.
Iz pjesme u pjesmu, Astrid Kuljanić nas vodi kroz muzički lavirint ovog svijeta donoseći nam viđenja i iskustva raznovrsnih muzičkih uticaja kojima je bila izložena i to na način kako ih je ona shvatila. Ako se tome doda i internacionalna ekipa bliskih joj saradnika na ovom projektu (članova benda The TransAtlantic Exploration Company), ta slika dobija na potpunom koloritu, na savršenoj perspektivi i kadriranju. Pravi je užitak slušati glas Astrifd Kuljanić i bezrezervo joj vjerovati u sve emocije koje nam njime donosi. Ona to radi maestralno, unikatno i neponovljivo, na svoj način.
Iz nekih reakcija same autorice, Astrid Kuljanić, vidio sam veliki ponos, sreću i zadovoljstvo da je ovaj materijal ovakav kakav jeste. Isto ushićenje sa Astrid dijelim i ja jer je njena muzika direktna, puna emocija, raznolika da razblažuje dušu svakog iskrenog i open minded slušatelja. Želim Astrid da njen materijal doprije do što više upravo takvih ljudi.
Vocalist, Astrid Kuljanic, launches new jazz / Balkan folk album. Astrid Kuljanic will release her new project of traditional folk and jazz-influenced work (officially at) October 24th, 2017 with a cross-cultural group of musicians, The TransAtlantic Exploration Company. Taking advantage of the diverse musical cultures in New York City, Kuljanic has explored jazz, Klezmer, Brazilian and Indian classical music. With “Riva“, she returns to her roots, exploring the unique folk music of coastal Croatia and its islands.
Album “Riva” features Croatian folk songs to frenetic Caribbean grooves and standards interpreted through Balkan odd meters, enhanced with atmospheric electronic effects, or stripped to the heartbreaking minimalism of bass and voice. Album “Riva” represents the intersection and fusion of the diverse musical traditions in Kuljanic‘s earlier work, and it is a testament to her belief in the power of music to forge connections across geographic and cultural divides. Kuljanic quotes Maria Schneider in describing what she feels is “the universal force for good that music is. …it is the most underutilized resource for peace, progress, child development and diplomacy in the world.” The tracks on “Riva” are charged with the interactive improvisation and rhythmic intensity created by the unusual instrumentation and diverse musical influences of the band members themselves.
The TransAtlantic Exploration Company represent such a fusion of diverse music traditions. Its members hail from Croatia, Brazil, USA (Seattle and New York), yet through regular performances of Kuljanic‘s original music, arrangements of jazz and Brazilian standards, and traditional and popular songs from Eastern Europe, the band has developed a unified cross-cultural style and a strong musical connection. The TransAtlantic Exploration Company features accordionist Ben Rosenblum, bassist Mat Muntz, percussionist Rogerio Boccato and vocalist Astrid Kuljanic.
Kuljanic performs regularly throughout Europe and America at music venues and at festivals, including such venues as the Gramercy Theater, the Waldorf Astoria and Golden Festival (New York), the Mendocino Music Festival (California), Earshot Jazz Series (Seattle), JZ Jazz Club (China), Kapoics Valley of Arts Festival and Ordogktatlan (Hungary), Teatro O’Nariz (Portugal), Lent Festival Maribor (Slovenia), Lisinski Hall and Museum of Contemporary Art of Zagreb, Spancirfest and Liburnia Jazz (Croatia). Her earlier work includes two albums with the Mildreds (“Brisaci prasine“, 2007 & “Zivot u usima“, 2009), Spart Jazz‘s “Nekoliko rijeci” (2013), her first album as a leader entitled Manhattan Dream of Music (2013) and an album with Asaran Earth Trio entitled “Why Should Your Heart Not Dance” (2017). Last news informs – Astrid Kuljanic & The TransAtlantic Exploration Company are going to present their current release, album “Riva“, at Carnegie Hall (Concert hall located at Manhattan, New York, USA) – at October 24, 2017.
About the songs on the album, “Riva“, Astrid Kuljanic explains: “The album ‘Riva’ contains nine songs that are ‘mish mash’ (mix) of what would be called jazz and world music. There are some Cres and Lošinj (Croatian islands) folklore songs in Caribbean grooves and Brazilian and jazz standards in slightly shifted interpretations, one song is performed using live electronics and two duets in a variant of the voice and double bass in which we stuck to the skeleton of the beautiful composition of ‘Portrait’ Charles Mingus and ‘Wild Is The Wind’ by Dimitri Tiompkin.“
It’s been a while since I got the offer to review the album “Riva“. By the pity of some circumstances, that was not the case and finally, I accepted that pleasant job. The first song from this album, played by Astrid Kuljanic & The TransAtlantic Exploration Company, “Oj, vi mlade” irresistibly reminded me of what Tamara Obrovac & The TransAdriatic Quartet are doing. Fortunately, it was just the first impression. Soon I realized that Astrid Kuljanic went much “wider” with her music. There is also a lot of Istrian music, its groove, but…
Continuing to listen to this material brought about what is the result of wealth that provides life in a multi-national and multi-cultural environment – in New York, in particular. Undoubtedly, such an environment brings quality and everyday life, in meetings with people of different nations and points of view, and so is music from different parts of the world. Who to resist this mix, who should stay own – specific on his or her roots? A little who. Living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, among the people from many countries who carry their cultural heritage, working for UNHCR, among the people from all over the world, working in Asia, among the people from the United States, Mexico, India, Kenya, Nepal, Afghanistan… even more persuaded me in the foregoing stance.
From the song to the song, Astrid Kuljanic leads us through the musicial labyrinth of this world, bringing us the visions and experiences of the various musical influences that she was exposed to in the way she understood it. Adding to this the international team of close associates on this project (members of her band, The TransAtlantic Exploration Company), this picture gets in full color, in a perfect perspective and framing. It is a true pleasure to listen to the voice of Astrifd Kuljanic and to trust her in all the emotions she brings to us. She is doing all of this so maestrally, uniquely and indelibly, on her own way.
From some of the reactions of the author, Astrid Kuljanic, I saw great her pride, happiness and satisfaction that this material was like this. The same curiosity with Astrid I share also because her music is direct, full of emotion, diverse to dissolve the soul of every honest and open minded listener. I want Astrid to get its material to as much as these people.
Discography – (with the Mildreds) Brisači prašine (Aquarius Records, 2007) ; Život u ušima (Aquarius Records, 2009) ; (with Spart Jazz) Nekoliko riječi (Maraton, 2013), her first album as a leader entitled Manhattan Dream of Music (Self-released, 2013) ; (with Asaran Earth Trio) Why Should Your Heart Not Dance (2017) ; Riva (OneTrickDog Records, 2017)
Astrid Kuljanic & The TransAtlantic Exploration Company features – Astrid Kuljanic (vocal) ; Ben Rosenblum (accordiont) ; Mat Muntz (bass guitar) ; Rogerio Boccato (percussion)
Astrid Kuljanić & The TransAtlantic Exploration Company – “Riva” – 1. Oj, vi mlade ; 2, Show Me ; 3. Portrait ; 4. Kamo je fini ov dan ; 5. Upa Neguinho ; 6. Divojčice Rožice ; 7. Wild Is The Wind ; 8. A Night In Tunisia ; 9. The Very Thought Of You
http://astrid-music.com / https://www.facebook.com/music.astrid / https://soundcloud.com/astrid-music-1/sets/riva/s-ECx1d
YT – Astrid Kuljanić & The TransAtlantic Exploration Company – Oj vi mlade
YT – Astrid Kuljanić & The TransAtlantic Exploration Company – A Night In Tunisia (Cover by D. Gillespie)
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Recenzent:
Dragutin Matošević
Tuzla, Bosna i Hercegovina
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