JAZZANITZA
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JAZZANITZA is a fellowship of young jazz musicians from several countries Bulgaria, Romania, Poland and the Netherlands, brought together by drummer/composer Borislav (Bobby)Petrov.
The name of the band is a hybrid between the words "jazz" and "liutenitza" (a tomato/peppers spread dish, very popular in Bulgaria), as well as the words "kopanitza" and "ruchenitza" which are popular Bulgarian folk dances.
Based in Amsterdam, the bands musical searches gravitate around spicing up contemporary jazz with elements of folk music from Bulgaria and other Balkan countries. The original compositions contain the harmonic structure and stylistic competence of various jazz styles, carefully intertwined with the rhythmic and melodic flavor of the East European folk traditions.
The improvisation explores different jazz and folk idioms and brightly outlines the specific musical background of each band member. Balanced with highly regarded ensemble playing, the music of JAZZANITZA generates a smooth blend of diverse musical inheritances.
JAZZANITZA has the aspiration to be a part of a new Balkan jazz movement which would melt down the cultural differences between East and West Europe.
Raya Hadzhieva - trumpet
Raya Hadzhieva (born in Sofia, Bulgaria) has always been fascinated by music and the mystery of playing it ever since an early age. At age 11 she started playing the accordion, which was followed up by the piano and the guitar. She started playing the trumpet at age 14 and simultaneously took vocal lessons, for her ambition at the time was to become a glamourous rock singer. In due time that changed and she started taking the trumpet more seriously after discovering the magic of jazz and improvisation. Eventually Raya moved from her homeland Bulgaria to Amsterdam (The Netherlands) in 2003 to study jazz trumpet at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Some of her influential teachers (Dutch and American) are Ruud Breuls, Jan Oosthof, Charlie Green, John Swana, Terell Stafford and Dick Oatts. In the first years of her studies her musical interests were mainly jazz, funk, and fusion orientated. Later, while doing her masters degree, she started exploring her own roots and became very eager to incorporate the Bulgarian and Balkan folk music traditions into improvisation and composition.
Raya has played in numerous bands and projects over the last several years. Currently she's working mostly with The Problems, The Branko Galoic Band and Hotel. She's also acting and playing with Theater Group De Appel in Den Haag.
Alex Simu - tenor sax/clarinet
Alex Simu (born in Bucharest,Romania) was raised in a family of musicians, since early age he was exposed to the sound of classical and jazz music, when he got 5 years old started playing piano and one year later he was already performing on the stage of the music school, ever since he decided to become a professional musician and strive for a musical carrier.
At the age of 18 Alex started playing saxophone, self-learning the instrument, few years later in 2002 he was awarded, along with his group NAJQ, for the best new artist on the Romanian jazz scene. In 2003, Alex moved to The Netherlands to study at the Prince Claus Conservatorium, in Groningen. There, with great teachers as Miguel Martinez, Don Braden and Yuri Honing, he discovered his true wish for playing tenor saxophone.
Later in 2005 Alex acquired the HartenAas jazz trophy in Groningen and in 2006, the solo prize in Hoofdorp big band competition.
In December 2005 Alex was selected for the Groningen jazz talent project. Participating in this great program he had the chance to have lessons and perform with the great american saxophonist Benny Wallace, along with Alvin Queen and Danton Boller, Alex performed in the Midnight Express jazz festival.
Ben van Gelder - alto sax
Ben van Gelder (born in The Netherlands ), grew up in a musical family his father being a record store owner and his mother a classically trained musician. He decided to pursue music at a young age studying with main figures in the Dutch jazz scene such as Simon Rigter, Benjamin Herman and Wil Jasper. It wasnt long before he started performing on some of the major venues and festivals in the Netherlands including the North Sea Jazz festival.
During his high school years Ben received various national and international prizes and honors. As a duo with his brother Gideon he won the first prize, audience and alumni awards at the Princess Christina Jazz Competition 2004. He was nominated as a 2005 ARTS Clifford Brown/ Stan Getz fellow, receiving the gold award from NFAA (National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts) for his accomplishments over the course of the fellowship program. In 2006 Ben was selected for the Summer Jazz Colony program, offered by the Brubeck institute, where he had the opportunity to work with distinguished musicians such as Hal Crook, Ingrid Jensen, Greg Tardy and Terrence Blanchard. Recently he was the winner of the prestigious Deloitte Jazz Award '07.
Ben was a student of the Conservatory of Amsterdam where he studied under the tutelage of Ferdinand Povel, Dick Oatts and Albert Beltman. After high school he moved to New York where he now attends the New School for Jazz and Contemporary music, financially supported by scholarship grants from both the New School and the Van den Ende Foundation (www.vandenendefoundation.com). He has studied with musicians George Coleman, George Garzone, Lee Konitz, Ari Hoenig and Jimmy Halperin.
In New York Ben has been performing in various groups and settings with internationally acclaimed musicians such as Jean-Michel Pilc, Ari Hoenig, Adam Rogers, David Binney, James Genus and Keith Carlock at venues such as the 55 Bar, Smalls, the Jazz Gallery, Dizzys Club Coca-Cola and the IAJE conference both as sideman and as a leader.
Tony Roe - piano
Tony Roe (born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands) started playing the piano at the age of 6. He developed a strong interest in (contemporary) classical music which was played a lot in his parental home. With a mother from the Dutch Caribbean, he was also greatly influenced by Latin American music. After completing high school in 1997 he studied classical piano with Rian de Waal at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague for a number of years. Being interested in electronics he took classes in music technology at the High school of Arts in Utrecht, while performing as keyboard player and sound designer with several bands. In 2001 he enrolled in the study of jazz piano at the Amsterdam Conservatory where he had Karel Boehlee, Rob van Bavel and Kris Goessens as teachers. He also attended master classes and workshops by jazz musicians like Bill Caro thers, John Taylor, Kenny Werner, John Clayton, and took lessons from Ari Hoenig, Jean-Michel Pilc, Aaron Parks and Jason Moran in New York City. Meanwhile he established his own music studio, Roe Music Productions in Amsterdam. Besides recording and song writing (Roe Music Publishing) he provides music/sound design for theatre performances. In 2009 he graduated his master study with distinction as performing jazz pianist at The Amsterdam Conservatory. His main focus is on incorporating electronics into contemporary jazz piano performance and exploring links with contemporary classical music. In recent years Tony Roe performed at festivals like North Sea Jazz, The Hague Jazz, and theMontreal Jazz Festival and at venues such as the Royal Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), the Muziekgebouw aan t IJ (Amsterdam), Bimhuis, Heineken Music Hall, Cotton Club (Tokyo), Blue Note (Nagoya) and he played in tours to Germany, Bulgaria, Canada and Japan.
Maciej Domaradzki - bass
Maciej Domaradzki (born in Poland) began his music education at age 12 as a classical trumpet player and later as double bassist. He attended bass lessons at the Musik Hochschule in Graz ( Austria ), under the guidance of teachers Wayne Darling and Ewald Zimmermann. Between 1996-2002, Maciej At the Rotterdam Conservatory (1996-2002), Maciej studied further on with Marius Beets, Stefan Lievestro and Hans Krul.
He has done tours, radio, tv and studio recordings in Austria, Germany, Hungary, USA, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkye, Greece. Played with Gruppe Horsturz, Mark Murphy, Eric Vloeimans, Steve Altenberg, Martin Drew, Lee Harper, John Engels, Asaf Sirkis, Kruno Laevaecic, Thorsten Grau, Hub Hildenbrand, Max Vax, Ray Smith, Ed Verhoef, Ken Ard, Alberto Marsico, Mark Gratama, Kazimierz Jonkisz, Rotterdams Fabrikaat Big Band, Antilogos, Ratko Divjak, Ma Dedic, Emil Spanyi, Fernando Correa.
Since 2002 Maciej Domaradzki is a member of "Het Zeeuws Orkest" - a symphony orchestra, based in Rotterdam.
Bobby Petrov - drums/compositions
Borislav Petrov (born in Sofia, Bulgaria) started playing drums at age 14. Performs proffesionally since age 19. He participated in numerous bands and projects in Bulgaria, including the pop-rock band "Slang", the experimental folk-fusion band "Brainstorm" and many others.
In 2002 he moved to the Netherlands to receive jazz education in a new American jazz School in Groningen - Prince Clauss Conservatorium. He was mentored by the American jazz drummers Ralph Peterson and Owen Hart. He performed in many school and local bands. He was a member of the "Stage Big Band" for 4 years. The "Stage Band" won the top prize of the national big band contest in Hoofdorp for 2 years in a roll. As a member of the folk-jazz band "Rakia", formed by Dimitar Liolev in Groningen, Borislav began experimenting with the integration of Bulgarian folk rhythms into jazz and vice versa. Eventually, this led him to his first attempts to compose original music, which integrates his ideas for fusing Bulgarian folklore and jazz. The music of "Jazzanitza" is a result of that effort.
During his years of study for a Master degree at the Amsterdam Conservatory(2006-08) Borislav got involved into various new bands and projects. With most of them he conitnues to record and perform today: Renske Taminiau&Band, Tarhana, Tinmen & the Telephone, Amsterdam Jazz Orchestra, Margriet Sjoersdma, Franz von Chossy Trio, Phillip Braemswig Trio and many others.
In 2008, together with fellow musician Alex Simu, he formed the largest big band ensemble around today, devoted to East -Europen jazz - the "Modern Balkan Jazz Orchestra".
Borislav has toured and performed in: Holland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, Greece, Bosnia, Germany, Austria, Norway, Belgium, Mexico, Canada, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Egypt and India (Rajasthan)
At the moment he is undertaking a doctorate in music at the Orpheus Insitute in Ghent, Belgium, developing an academic research on Bulgarian folk rhythms.
Dimitar Liolev is Jazzanitza's member of honour. He inspired the creation of this band and his influence on our musical ideas is tremendous. He lives in Bulgaria, therefore we cannot have the privelege to have him play with us all the time, but we are always glad when there are opportunities for him to join Jazzanitza.
JAZZANITZA is a result of a long lasting musical relationship between the Bulgarian musicians Borislav (Bobby) Petrov and Dimitar Liolev. In 2000, they joined an experimental folk-fusion band in Bulgaria. In 2002, after realizing the limited learning and performing opportunities in the country, both musicians moved to the Netherlands, where they received their jazz education in an American Jazz Shool, based in Groningen, the Netherlands (Prince Claus Conservatorium). During their studies, Dimitar and Borislav continued to experiment with fusing Bulgarian folk music and jazz, by forming projects such as Dimitar Liolev Trio and Rakia (which made it to the finals of the Dutch Jazz Competition, 2003).
Dimitar's tasteful improvising on the alto saxophone and his compositions perfectly blend the language of jazz and Bulgarian instrumental folk music. This inspired Borislav Petrov to write original music as well. His compositions are based on the idea of creating a hybrid style, borrowing elements from the worlds of jazz and folk ,and transforming them into a new musical realm.
The jazz Conservatory in Groningen was also the place where Borislav Petrov met saxophonist Alex Simu (Romania). Their musical friendship has been developing for the last 7 years. Today Alex and Borislav play together in several projects, and they have recently established their own big band - "the Modern Balkan Jazz Orchestra".
The other members of JAZZANITZA Raya Hadzhieva, Tony Roe and Maciej Domaradzki, joined the band during their studies at the Amsterdam Conservatory, where Borislav and Alex were obtaining their Master degree.
The newest member of Jazzanitza is Ben van Gelder - a young dutch jazz extraordinaire, who is earning respect on both the Dutch, and the international jazz scenes. Ben's recent visit to Bulgaria enthused his interest in Bulgarian folk music and he began exploring the idiom himself.
JAZZANITZA's first live performance was in June 2008 at Borislav Petrovs Master Final Exam. The music had to display the results of a research thesis, which Borislav had completed. The thesis is based on integrating Bulgarian rhythms into jazz improvisation. The exam was received well and graded with a high mark. Borislav was even invited to continue his reserach into a Doctorate at the Orpheus institute in Ghent, Belgium.
It became apparent that the music of JAZZANITZA was a successful experiment and that this musical hybrid makes sense.
The band will release their debut CD, "Turbudance" later this year.
1. Again
2. Bopchevo Horo
3. Exponent
4. Differences - live in Amsterdam
(with Dimitar Liolev)
5. Turning Off
6. Calling The Unknown
tracks 1, 2, 3 and 5 are taken from Live at he 12 Points Festival, Stavanger, Norway 13.02.10
Stage plan
Technical Rider
A note on Bulgarian rhythms
Discography of great folk and folk-jazz recordings
Good Bulgarian food and brands of Rakia
and much more
COMING SOON!!!
BIO
MUSIC
PHOTOS
VIDEOS
DOWNLOADS
13/04/10, 21:00 - Dizzy Cafe, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
13/02/10, 23:00 - 12 Points Festival, Stavanger, Norway
For bookings and info, please write at:
jazzanitza_gmail.com
bppetrov_gmail.com
Also, check our myspace page:
www.myspace.com/jazzanitza
www.mbjorchestra.com
www.myspace.com/borislavpetrov
www.alexsimu.com
www.benvangelder.com
www.maciejdomaradzki.com
www.myspace.com/rayastuff
www.roemusicproductions.com
www.myspace.com/miitkoliolev
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photos by Claudia Hansen
