|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| European Jazz Prize & Hans Koller Prize 2005 It is fitting that pianist Bojan Zulfikarpasic, a Paris resident but born and raised in the former Yugoslavia, is this year’s winner of the European Jazz Prize. His playing exemplifies both the strength of the European jazz scene and its wonderful diversity. As a performer, he is never less than absorbing and frequently exhilarating, yet what he plays is a style of jazz that could only come from Europe. As a child in Belgrade, he was immersed in the Yugoslavian folkloric heritage, “My parents were both music fans, ” he once explained. “I used to go to sleep listening to Yugoslavian folksongs.” And while he is thoroughly versed in the basic syntax of jazz, having studied with Clare Fischer at the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan in the USA and in Paris at the CIM academy, it is the subtle musical illusions to his Balkan heritage that swim through his playing that give his music a particularly European identity. It is significant that the Jury Explanation for the first European Jazz Prize in 2002 noted, “signs of stagnation in American jazz.” By 2005, evidence of this is much plainer to see, with recapitulation now largely replacing innovation. In contrast Europe, the Jury Explanation continued, “may shape the future course of the music.” This too seems to be happening. With the globalization of jazz around the world, the music has gradually taken on local, or “glocal, ” characteristics that separate it from its “birthplace.” These jazz styles use the basic syntax of American hegemonic styles that have been widely disseminated around the world (the globalization process), but have been reinscribed with local significance (the glocalization process). In Europe, this cross fertilization of local culture, custom and practices with American jazz has produced a wide variety of jazz styles across the Continent with quite distinct “glocal” characteristics. It is these innovative versions of European jazz in local and national contexts that is proving to be the next major evolutionary change in the music. Bojan Zulfikarpasic is at the forefront of these developments. There is a wonderful moment on 1999’s Koreni (his third album after Bojan Z Quartet and Yopla! ) where the composition “La Petite Gitane” explodes with vivid Balkan imagery. Here is brilliant jazz, but reinscribed with “local” meaning that stands out in a music marketplace whose homogenizing tendencies are at odds with the music’s inherent complexity. In 2001, Zulfikarpasic produced his first solo album, the acclaimed Solobsession and the following year he was granted the title of Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government and the Prix Django Reinhardt for “Musician of the Year” from the French Académie of Jazz. His fifth album, Transpacifik, with American stars Scott Colley and Nasheet Waits, produced evidence of his continuing development as an artist. In 2005, came a collaboration with the Marimanga Trio, a busy round of solo concerts, dates with his trio and with Julien Lourau, Aldo Romano, Louis Sclavis and Paolo Fresu. Through his increasing mastery of globalized jazz styles (he cites Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley and Richie Beirach as inspiration for his solo concerts) through which he projects a distinct “glocal” identity, Bojan Zulfikarpasic is very much a musician who is pointing the way to the future. the Austrian Prizes: Musician of the Year 2005: EUR 7.300.-- sponsored by the Austrian Government Harry Sokal, saxophone Newcomer of the year 2005: EUR 5.500.- sponsored by BA-CA Martin Reiter, piano CD of the year 2005: EUR 3.600.- sponsored by the Austrian Government ”Confessions” Linda Sharrock (Quinton) Sideman of the year 2005: EUR 3.600.- sponsored by AMO Hans Strasser, bass New York Stipendium 2005: EUR 7.300.- sponsored by Thomastik-Infeld Bastian Stein, trumpet Christof Auer, saxpohone The Prizes will be awarded on Dec. 9th 2005, 8pm at the Viennese Jazz club Porgy&Bess, the concert by the European Jazz Prize winner will take place on Dec.10th 2005, 8pm also at the Porgy&Bess. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |