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 Andreas Polyzogopoulos (Greece; trumpet), Federico Casagrande (Italy; guitar), Mihail Ivanov (Bulgaria; double bass), Srdjan Ivanovic (Bosnia & Herzegovina; drums, keyboards, compositions, arrangements), and special guest Magic Malik (Ivory Coast; flute).
This is a very special MoonJune releases for the label’s honcho Leonardo Pavkovic, the 4th artists from countries once part of his native Yugoslavia, after Dusan Jevtovic (Serbia), Vasil Hadzimanov (Serbia/Macedonia) and Vasko Atanasovski (Slovenia). Srdjan was born in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Leonardo was born in Jajce, a historic town, which was once upon a time, the first capital of the Kingdom of Bosnia, in 14th century.
My life has consisted of many moves, changing countries, neighbourhoods and appartements, more often than I wanted to. I’ve come to realise that what has meant home for me is music, and in particular the music I hear in my head. This music is personal but if you wanted to categorize it I guess you would say that it’s rooted in the Balkans (as in the mix of strong cultures of the east and the west, not just as in ‘’party brass band music’’) and is expressed through Jazz, and Jazz for me means freedom and expression, that’s what I fell in love with, the freedom and expression that be-bop brought and that flourished into many different sounding music creations.
Blazin’ Quartet has transformed over time in many ways, as the 3 previous albums and this new one might tell you. After moving to Paris I wanted to reinvent the band, find musicians that would bring something new but yet stay true to the innovative, ad- venturous spirit of the music we previously made. The musicians were chosen to fit this music and the ideas I had but also the music was chosen to fit these great musicians. They are all masters of their instruments and very strong personalities and I wanted to give as much of that as possible, within my own musical vision.
I also distilled my previous ideas about making an album and went for a photographic approach to music on tape – capturing a vibe, not looking for a perfect take. I was inspired by the idea of sleeping beauty, that only the awakened mind sees. To put it in another way – I never fully understood why a diamond is so much more valuable than the so many beautiful stones that you find on any beach. Anyway, with this album I wanted to deliver music that I felt was right, without giving in to preconceptions of what a ‘’jazz’’ album should be and let the musicians on it shine in their best light. I was really happy that an unexpected trumpet solo by Andreas – later turned duo when I overdubbed the keyboards – was a track that I loved and kept. Or that an unplanned guitar solo, by Federico, would end up on the album. On the tunes with Magic Malik, Rue des Balkans and Guchi (another unplanned event at the recording session, a tune from Jalkan Bazz, one of our previous albums) we again went for the vibe and the journey.
The title track, Sleeping Beauty is inspired by my wife Catherine. It’s not a typical decision to start an album with a ballad and to have a drum-trumpet free-jazz battle instead of a solo but I think that it actually makes sense. The birds in the intro and outro were recorded at our lockdown location, at dawn for the intro and at night fall for the outro. I was lucky enough to spend the lockdown in the coun- tryside, near Sancerre in France, and more than ever before spend three months in isolation and close contact with nature.
In the last years I have been listening so much to Ennio Morricone that I had to do something about that. I’m a big fan of melody – which I think is the king of music – and Ennio Morricone was a king of melody! The Man With the Harmonica is a very well known tune of his and I think we managed to stay true to it, without changing much, and at the same time transform it into some- thing almost unrecognisable. So, although the music didn’t really change, the vibe is not anymore the vibe of the duel between Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda in ‘’Once Upon a Time in the West’’ but instead it’s ‘’ours’’, I guess something more on the mediterranean side. The other tune ‘’A l’aube du cinquième jour’ is a tune that just with the melody takes you on a journey, proving my earlier point about melody! Again, we didn’t change much but gave it our own rendition that I think makes it very personal.
I met illustrator Severine Scaglia at the playground as a friend-parent and again, I thought that that’s a place as good as any to discover a great artist. I admired her collages for both their aesthetics and their message which illustrated so well her subjects. I think that this cover illustrates closely this music, a collage of very simple elements that through the illustrator’s vision awaken in the composition as a whole.
Finally, this album is a realization of my people who believed in it, my countryman Leonardo Pavkovic of MoonJune Records, and the team at Le Coolectif, as well as press agent Valerie Mauge, and booker Sabrina Ouyang, who are helping bring it to you. As much as we can do, we need people to help us bring forward what we do.
When initially asked to talk about this new album, my first thought was to say that beauty ‘’sleeps’’ in everything but when I think again I would rather say that everything is beautiful but we are ‘’asleep’’ and don’t experience it. But, sometimes, somebody creates something that touches us, wakes us up, and for a moment we see everything shining in it’s true light. I hope this recording does that to you.
An evening of adventurous cosmic music exploring and expanding sonic boundaries of magic and the unknown. Tickets:• Streaming Only – $12.00• Streaming plus a rough mix of the show (MP3 192kb) – $20.00(MP3 will be sent up to 10 days after the performance by MoonJune Records) tickets:www.shapeshifterlab.com/livestream/moonjune-3 Special thanks to Matt Garrison and Fortuna Sung of ShapeShifter Lab for hosting this event.
TIM MOTZER is widely known for his distinct textural acoustic-electro guitar voice utilizing looping, bowing, electronics, and prepared techniques. From 2016-19, Tim toured the world playing prestigious venues and jazz festivals with Bandit65, an improvising trio he co-leads with guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel and drummer Gintas Janusonis. He has also collaborated with numerous musical luminaries including David Sylvian, Burnt Friedman, Jaki Liebezeit, poet Ursula Rucker, King Britt, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Vernon Reid, David Torn, Markus Reuter, ALex SKolnick, Percy Jones, Kenny Grohowski, and Pat Mastelotto, among others. Tim‘s work has appeared in the hit HBO series True Blood as well a major motion picture directed by Michael Mann. As an in-demand, solo live composer/improviser in the world of modern dance, Tim most recently playing to sold-out houses in Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Oujda, Morocco; Philadelphia, PA; and Toronto, Canada. For over a decade, he has served as a live accompanist/composer for master choreographers at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Tim brings his dynamic, eclectic array of musical projects together under his own 1k Recordings imprint, which has over 40 releases and counting.
GINTAS JANUSONIS has performed and toured all around the globe, recorded and collaborated with an incredibly diverse range of artists including Angélique Kidjo, Branford Marsalis, Eminem, Carlos Santana, Bill Laswell, The revelations., RZA, Wu-Tang Clan, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Otis Clay, Charles Hodges, Teenie Hodges, Leroy Hodges, Lester Snel, Boo Mitchell, Yuna, M.O.P., Lee Scratch Perry, Erykah Badu, Los Lobos, Xander Duell, Foxy Brown, Frankie Negron, Bilal, Defunkt, James Spaulding, Oliver Lake, Utada Hikaru, Ursula Rucker, Tre Williams, Jonah Smith, The Next Legacy Big Band, Kahil El Zabar, Sandra St. Victor, Josh Roseman, Reggie Washington, Fareed Haque, Rueben Wilson, Curtis Fowlkes, Jeffrey Mironov, Michael Harvey, Angela Johnson, and many others. As an auspicious start to his recording career, in 1997 Gintas received a UK gold record for his performance on the Ultra Naté hit single “Free”, from the album “Situation Critical”.
VERNON REID is a guitar legend. Webster’s Dictionary defines an artist as “one who professes and practices an imaginative art; a person skilled in one of the fine arts; a skilled performer.” By any of these definitions, guitarist and composer Vernon Reid is a true artist, one whose art is a work forever in progress, from his formative years on the downtown New York jazz/funk/punk scene with Ronald Shannon Jackson’s Decoding Society, to his leadership of the pioneering multi-platinum rock band Living Colour, to his collaborations with creative spirits ranging from guitarist Carlos Santanaand African singer Salif Keita to choreographers Bill T. Jones and Donald Byrd. He cites Miles Davis, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Fripp, Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Eddie Hazel, John McLaughlin, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, and Dr. Know among his influences. Among many of his most notorious collaborations are those with Jack Bruce, David Torn, Ronald Shannon Jackson and the Decoding Society, Mick Jagger, Ambitious Lovers, Rollins Band, Spearhead, Public Enemy, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Tracy Chapman, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Don Byron, Defunkt, Santana, Bernie Worrell, MC 900 Ft. Jesus, B.B. King, Madeleine Peyroux, Meridiem, Jack Bruce, Terry Bozzio, Black Sugar Transmission,DJ Spooky, and many others.
LEON GRUENBAUM has been a vital force in the New York music scene for over 25 years. After early classical training on piano and woodwinds, Mr. Gruenbaum developed an interest in jazz, funk and avant-garde music. He conceived of the world’s first relativistic music keyboard, a patented MIDI controller called the Samchillian Tip Tip Tip Cheeepeeeee. This instrument won a prize at the 2011 Guthman Musical Instrument Competition and is now listed in the 2nd edition of the Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments. He has recorded and performed on his instrument internationally with guitarist Vernon Reid (Living Colour), James “Blood” Ulmer and the Burnt Sugar Arkestra. He also plays this keyboard while singing in his projects – “Creative Apocalypse” and “Genes and Machines”. Other artists with whom he has performed include Stew, Nana Vasconcelos, Chaka Khan, Beans, M.C.P.S., Micah Gaugh and Aaron Comess’s “Air Conditioned Gypsies” JOSH WERNER is a bass player, composer, performer and abstract painter, Werner has made quite a name for himself working in a variety of styles, most notably in dub, experimental rock, hip hop and jazz. His work with Ghostface Killer, CocoRosie, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Cibo Matto, PopCaan, James Brandon Lewis, Matisyahu, Sly and Robbie, Wu Tang Clan and TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe has cemented his status as a low-end heavyweight
MoonJune Records is offering Annual Digital Subscription.For $150. It’s a deal of the Century (LIMITED AVAILABILITY, RESERVED FOR THE FIRST 50 SUBSCRIBERS) Direct link: moonjunerecords.bandcamp.com/subscribe
FOR ANYBODY ELSE, 10% OFF ON ANYTHING AT THE CHECKOUT: www.moonjunerecords.bandcamp.com Apply this discount code at the checkout: octoberfest2020
MOONJUNE RECORDS ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION What can you expect for $150? • The complete catalog plus many albums associated with the label, total of 170 albums. (DIGITAL FORMAT ONLY)• 5 more releases before the end of the year, and over 20 albums in 2021.• 35% discount on all physical/merch products: CDs, LPs, books, t-shirts, mugs. Most of the albums are in HD 20 or 24bit quality and can be download in any or all formats, such WAV, FLAC, ALAC/M4A, MP3-320.
Once You subscribe, all albums will automatically appear in Your collection on Your personal BandCamp account. You can download any album as many times You like to any devices You want, once You log into Your personal BC account.
Over the last 19 years, MoonJune Records has been privileged to present ambitious, visionary music recorded – from a profusion of divergent artists scattered across the globe. MoonJune Records, a truly independent one-man-operation from New York City, is a boutique record label of progressive music which explores and expands boundaries of jazz, rock, avant, ethno, the unknown and anything in between and beyond.
As most of you are all too aware, already, the recorded music industry is in the midst of a dramatic transformation. Old business models are no longer workable; sales volumes and profit margins have continued to fall, while overhead continues to rise, unabated. But MoonJune Records, is not stopping. Despite all difficulties, the show must go on.
******************************* Please note that all MoonJune Records releases will be available in CD format and some might be available in the vinyl format as well, But various samplers, compilations and live concerts, will be ONLY available in DIGITAL format.
Upcoming releases on MoonJune before the end of the year:: • WINGFIELD CHAPMAN ADEWALE – Zoji • VASKO ATANASOVSKI ADRABESA QUARTET – Phoenix • DENNIS REA – Giant Steppes • SRDJAN IVANOVIC BLAZIN’ QUARTET – Sleeping Beauty • SOFT WORKS (Dean, Holdsworth, Hopper, Marshall) – Abracadabra In Osaka (live 2003)
And so many goodies in 2021, among them: • STEPHAN THELEN – Fractal Guitar 2 • GARY HUSBAND – One • MAHOGANY FROG – In The Electric Universe • SKOLNICK MOTZER JONES GROHOWSKI – SSL Live Aug-15-2020 • BELEDO w/ TONY LEVIN, KENNY GROHOWSKI – new album, no title yet • simakDIALOG – Live 2014, no title yet • MARK WINGFIELD – solo album • ASAF SIRKIS with GARY HUSBAND and KEVIN GLASGOW – new album, no title yet • DHARMAWAN SAVOLDELLI BELEDO – World Peace Coalition (w/ 25 musicians from all the continents) • MARK WINGFIELD w/ GARY HUSBAND, ASAF SIRKIS – new album, no title yet • DEWA BUDJANA w/ SIMON PHILLIPS & CARLITOS DEL PUERTO – new album, no title yet • ERNESTO HOLMAN TRIO – new album, no title yet • OFER ASSAF BAND with ALEX SKOLNICK, LINCOLN GOINES, ROBBY AMEEN – new album, no title yet • MARKUS REUTER – Truce 2 • BORIS SAVOLDELLI & FABIO TRENTINI w/ MARKUS REUTER, DAVID CROSS, ASAF SIRKIS – new album, no title yet • DOMINIQUE VANTOMME – new album, no title yet • Lve archival albums of GARY HUSBAND, STICK MEN. • Digital Samplers of Music from all around the globe. • And More….
(Future STICK MEN and SOFT MACHINE albums, as well SOFT WORKS – Abracadabra In Osaka, will not be included in this promotion.)
This promotion is open, and it’s limited to the first 50 new subscribers only. You are more than welcome to add more money at the checkout.
This might be the best money You’ve ever spent on music in recent years, and You are massively helping the indy label.
Over the last almost 19 years, MoonJune Records has been privileged to present ambitious, visionary music recorded – from a profusion of divergent artists scattered across the globe. MoonJune Records, a truly independent one-man-operation from New York City, is a boutique record label of progressive music which explores and expands boundaries of jazz, rock, avant, ethno, the unknown and anything in between and beyond.
As most of you are all too aware, already, the recorded music industry is in the midst of a dramatic transformation. Old business models are no longer workable; sales volumes and profit margins have continued to fall, while overhead continues to rise, unabated. With that in mind,
By contributing $100, you become a “VIP MoonJunista”. You are directly supporting MoonJune Records, and in embracing such a role, you’ll receive all the upcoming MoonJune Records and MoonJune-related releases in digital format. Realistically, VIP’s should expect 15 or more releases annually, and that’s a killer deal! (CDs and LPs are not included in the subscription package.)
As an added bonus to subscribers, an automatic discount of 25% will be applied to all merchandise purchases offered through MoonJune’s BandCamp site (CDs, LPs, t-shirts, books, etc).This VIP membership also gets you automatic downloads of 30 digital albums: samplers, compilations or selected albums from the MoonJune’s BandCamp – including MoonJune Records’ releases, as well some non-label releases promoted by MoonJune through our BandCamp page.This is a limited time offer.
You can find which 30 digital albums are included in this offer in this link:
MoonJune needs Your support to facilitate production and promotion of MoonJune‘s upcoming recording projects of Dwiki Dharmawan, Markus Reuter, Asaf Sirkis, Mark Wingfield, Beledo, Dewa Budjana, Soft Machine, Dennis Rea, Moraine, Stephan Thelen, Stick Men, Gary Husband, Mahogany Frog, Boris Savoldelli, vintage live recordings of Soft Works and simakDialog, and a few more label’s
100th MOONJUNE RECORD’ RELEASE CELEBRATION:
19 CDs FOR $100 (+ shipping and handling)
19 stands for 19 years of MoonJune Records.
100 stands for 100 releases of MoonJune records in 19 years, since June 2001.
If your preference is physical CDs, for limited time, we are also offering 19 CD’s (from the specially selected list) for $100 plus shipping & handling! ($5.00 if shipped Media Mail in the USA; $15,00 if shipped to Canada; $35 if shipped everywhere else in the world.)
Once we receive payment for this deal (19 physical CD’s), you will be sent an e-mail with an attached Excel file – with the list of selected and featured CDs from the MoonJune catalog, and many others from associated artists promoted by MoonJune. No worries, there are a lot of CDs to choose from. If you need help, MoonJune’s head honcho, Leonardo Pavkovic, will do it for You; just make sure you list albums already in your collection, and he will help you fill in the gaps. And if You need digital files of the purchased CDs, we will send them to You in less than 24hrs after Your purchase.
Additionally – as a special limited promotion – we are offering 19 downloads for $100. (19 represents 19 years of MoonJune, and 100 represents our milestone: 100th release on the label). This offer is available to annual subscribers and non-subscribers, alike. And You can choose any 19 digital album available on the MoonJune’s BandCamp page, including all available MoonJune and non-MoonJune releases.
All downloads are available in multiple formats: FLAC,WAV, ALAC/M4A, MP3-320 and more. Many of MoonJune albums, specially the latest 30+, are recorded and mastered in HD, 20 or 24bit.
Once You make selection, please e-mail us Your choice of albums.
And download codes will be sent to You in 24-48hrs max. If you need help, MoonJune’s head honcho, Leonardo Pavkovic, will do it for You; just make sure you list albums already in your collection, and he will help you fill in the gaps.
Even before I started listening to this album, the omens were good. Firstly, the two improvisers recorded it in its entirety on my birthday, and then we have the title. For non-Brits, tor is a hill or rocky outcrop, while a vale is a valley, so they co-exist side by side and it is not possible to have one without the other. I grew up in South Devon, spent as much time as I could on Dartmoor where there is Hound Tor, Yes Tor, and so many others, and my parents named our house Haytor after one of the most well-known granite outcrops. Mark Wingfield has been making quite a name for himself in recent years with his stunning guitar albums, while Gary Husband will always be thought of for his long relationship with Allan Holdsworth, which started all the way back in 1979. Although Husband has always been primarily thought of as a drummer, he is also a very accomplished pianist and it is in that role he provides the counterpoint to Wingfield.
Some of the songs were written by Wingfield ahead of time, others were improvised on the spot, but this is all about two musicians playing call and response, listening to the other and instinctively reacting. Husband explained that the intuitive nature of this Tor & Vale session has been part of his modus operandi for years. “I actually have the infuriating habit of listening to initial instruction or some kind of plan, only to then completely disregard it and let instinct and intuition take over,” he said. “I love the conversational, instinctive process to make its own way and present itself through us.” The result is something quite magical, as two players intuit what the other is going to do before they even know it themselves, as they move and guide each other through a journey where not only is the destination not know, there is no map. This freedom can be paralyzing to some, but here there is no hesitation, no looking back, just always pushing onwards to a final result which is as yet unknown.
This is music without a net, no room to hide behind others, just two guys in a room with the red light on and concentrating intently on what each of them is doing and letting the music spirit guide them on the path. Intense, dramatic, powerful, this is a wonderful album in so many ways. Production is top-notch, as is everything that comes out of the Spanish La Casa Murada Studio, which has been a base for so much of Wingfield’s work. Yet another essential release from Moonjune.
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Over the last almost 19 years, MoonJune Records has been privileged to present ambitious, visionary music recorded – from a profusion of divergent artists scattered across the globe. MoonJune Records, a truly independent one-man-operation from New York City, is a boutique record label of progressive music which explores and expands boundaries of jazz, rock, avant, ethno, the unknown and anything in between and beyond.
