SATARAŠ QUARTET – Errors and Omissions / Southern Crescent, 2020 / LP, CD / traditional, jazz fusion / B&H, USA
Sataraš Quartet is an instrumental quartet that fuses jazz improvisation with ethnic Southern European roots and American blues to create exciting new worlds of sound. The work of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Jimi Hendrix are touchstones, and yet the group has found both an original, powerful sound and a loyal following.
Eddie Beho (guitar) is a Sarajevo-born (Bosnia and Herzegovina) guitarist who has performed or recorded with bands such as Indexi (50th Anniversary USA Tour), The 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra, Ujrdurma Balkanish, Overdream, BDB Trio and others. He grew up playing blues, R&B, jazz, klezmer, fusion, collaborated with Balkan music legends such as – Fadil Redzic and Branko Pavlovic, and studied with jazz master Dave Frackenpohl. His driving musical motivation is the joy of playing and recording music with people who inspire him. His influences range from John Coltrane to the Beatles and Steely Dan.
Jeff Crompton (sax, clarinet, keys) was born in Atlanta and started performing in that city in 1982, playing with a wide variety of bands and musicians, including pianist/composer Michael J. Smith. More recently, Jeff has focused on composition, while continuing to perform his off-center, jazz-based music around the Southeast and beyond. Later musical associates include guitarists Davey Williams and Eugene Chadbourne and The 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra. Beyond Sataraš Quartet, he currently leads Three Way Mirror, a unique sax/tuba/congas trio, and is a founding member of the Edgewood Saxophone Trio.
Colin Bragg (bass, samples) is a native Atlantan who enjoys making music in many contexts, from solo acoustic guitar concerts to over-the-top modern dance happenings. Early exposure to psychedelic and progressive rock music eventually led him to jazz and modern composition. He has shared the stage with such luminaries as jazz composer Ken Vandermark, Tibetan folk musician Techung, Hungarian guitarist Sandor Szabo, and country pop star Jennifer Nettles. Colin also performs with Mr. Helton in their long-standing space jazz duo Helton & Bragg and with low brass wizard Bill Pritchard in the electric tuba and synthesizer project Andedyr.
Blake Helton (drums) traveled a lot as a kid, and those experiences in the Middle East and Africa shaped his listening perception, plus his parents had a lot of Stevie Wonder LPs. His musical voice has developed within many different sonic spaces and meetings, from spontaneous creative ensembles, to space rock voyages and fuzzed-out live electronic soundscapes. Over the years, Blake has played with SS Puft, Early Modern Witch Trials, Recompas, and the Edgewood Big Band to name a few. Most importantly, the enduring musical telepathy that Blake shares with Mr. Bragg in their ongoing Helton & Bragg unit, can be felt at the core Sataraš Quartet rhythm section.
Discography – Errors and Omissions (Southern Crescent, 2020) ; Official Bootleg Series, Volume 1 (Southern Crescent, 2020)
Members of Sataraš Quartet are – Edin (Eddie) Beho (guitar) ; Jeff Crompton (saxophone, clarinet, keyboard) ; Colin Bragg (bass, synths) ; Blake Helton (drums, synths)
The more frequent appearance of a jazz musician named Eddie Beho on the Bosnian-Herzegovinian jazz music scene significantly revived it. By the way, Beho also has an American address in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, USA. What is most important for this story – both in B/H and in the USA, Beho is active as a musician. In Bosnia and Herzegovina he achieves this through the BDB Trio, and in America through a team called the Sataraš Quartet. Thanks to that valuable musician, Eddie Beho, I have this opportunity to listen to, present and review the music of the album “Errors and Omissions“.
Sataraš is a very tasty dish that is a mix of various vegetables (red onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes…) and is excellent on its own or as a side dish to meat. Adequately, I find justification why this quartet was called by that name. As in the example of the dish, his music is a mix of various musical styles, and it goes well both independently and with the rest of the jazz releases.
Jazz is defined as American music marked by lively rhythms with unusual accents and often by melodies made up by musicians as they play (so called – improvisations). Who will play jazz better than the Americans? Americans, of course. Considering the wide scope of jazz music, it is not confined to one musical style, but is happy to touch other musical influences. Here we come to the point where is evident the great role of the B&H jazz musician, Eddie Beho, who made a great contribution, with the influences of traditional music, to that musical conglomerate.
It is a real pleasure to listen to this coordinated musical team. The album consists of (only) six instrumental compositions, but each of them has a full justification for its existence – whether it was traditional, the work of the band members or a cover (Coltrane, 5). No matter how hard I tried, I didn’t find the slightest errors or omissions in this music.
It was with great pleasure that I presented such valuable and rare audio recordings in my music-informative radio shows of the Winged Wheels (Krilati kotači) series. That show is currently unavailable due to lack of understanding by our social community to spread unique cultural values. Of course, I am making attempts to make it available again to everyone interested. As the first contribution, I already know for sure, it will be dedicated to the music of the jazz band the Satataš Quartet. They were alive, then they saw.
Sataraš Quartet – “Errors and Omissions” – 1. Ne si go prodavaj Koljo Ciflikot (traditional) : 2. Retraction (Crompton) ; 3. Betty’s Creek Blues (Bragg) ; 4. Yazoo (Beho) ; 5. Tunji (Coltrane) ; 6. Jovka Kumankova (traditional)
Foto – Promo
Related article – EDDIE BEHO – Secret Stash (Reviewed by: Dragutin Matošević)
https://www.facebook.com/satarasquartet / https://satarasquartet.com / https://www.facebook.com/edin.beho /
YT – Sataraš Quartet – Jovka Kumankova
YT – Sataraš Quartet – Betty’s Creek Blues
