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An unofficial Label Bleu discography Reviews: Bojan Zulfikarpasic - Bojan Z. Quartet - LBLC 6565
Bojan Z Quartet is one of my favourite releases on Label Bleu and the first that bought the label to my attention. Zulfikarpasic's debut disc opens with No Name Valse a short Solalesque theme with Julien Lourau's soprano intertwining choppy phrases with the pianist - the stop/start rhythm flows into the urgent swing of Steve Swallow's Play Ball with Lourau switching to tenor, and having worked himself through a Joe Henderson style work out, delivers a beautifully exuberant overblown phrase just as the theme reappears. Zilbra and Mashala, two Zulfikarpasic originals draw on the composer's Balkan heritage. The former employing a trill melody which Lourau mimics thrillingly on soprano and the latter, with a mournful bass line reflecting perhaps the pianists work with Henri Texier, featuring a beautifully expressive arco solo from Marc Buranfosse.
Elsewhere, Lourau's Gingerpickles, and drummer Francois Merville's Les Instants Sens Dessus Dessous, continue the strong exotic lyricism of the session - the drummers contribution features probably the most challenging music on the disc with a fairly compelling free section which engages the harmonics of Lourau's tenor in a burst of organised violence before returning fleetingly to a sprightly theme. Zulfikarpasic's thoughtful Spirito is a loy key, late night ballad which still manages to work up some heat before closing the disc. Throughout this recording the cohesion of the group is evident, changes in time, mood and dynamics are negotiated seamlessly. As producer Dave Liebman comments in his sleeve notes, "This is truly GROUP music...". Another way of saying it swings. That I still regularly play this disc eight years since its release speaks volumes. Get Bojan Z Quartet from Amazon
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