A Bulgarian formation has been gaining popularity of late that is very different from all others. It is called Metaфormoза – the name plays on the letters of the word and its meaning. The driving force behind it is trumpet player Rossen Zahariev-Roko. Thanks to him, jazz music lovers in Bulgaria can find themselves in a world very different from what we can expect. But that is not something confined to Metaфormoза alone, it is inherent to any formation Roko has played with.

His interest in music goes back to his childhood, but what proved crucial was the seven years he spent singing with the Bulgarian National Radio’s Children’s Radiochoir. Percussion instruments were his childhood passion, he then started playing the piano; he caught on to the magic of the trumpet in his later years. In this he was influenced by his teacher Anton Hristov. Having graduated as a classical instrumentalist, Rossen Zahariev chose a road different from that of a traditional orchestra musician. School-friend slide-trombone player Georgi Kornazov played a significant role in the choice he made. For more than twenty years Roko has been promoting and experimenting in the world of the free and improvisational style of jazz. Metaфormoза was founded in 2012 by Rossen Zahariev-Roko, together with Anthony Rikev, bass, Nikolay Danev, percussion and Miroslav Ivanov, guitar.

“I am happy to say that I am now riding on the crest of inspiration and I very much hope to keep it that way,” Rossen Zahariev says. “I am happy to be a musician, I am happy this is my job. Things usually turn out the way they should. Two days before our participation in this year’s Brazzobrazzie festival, we went to the recording studio with Metaфormoза and we recorded quite a few pieces outright, without any rehearsing. We plan to release an album with these recordings that will be a debut for the formation. The reason I expanded my quests outside the realm of jazz is that there are performers in the world nowadays who play jazz in their own peculiar way. To my mind, Tony and Nikki are not jazz musicians. They are impeccable when it comes to groove and beat, something not all jazzmen are capable of. That is precisely the reason why I play with them. I have spent a lot of time looking for that kind of interpretation i.e. a structure I could use to lay any kind of melody material on and “vocalize” it using my instrument. Miro is an instrumentalist who “sails” equally well in all musical waters; I see him developing as a professional right before my eyes."

The idea to form Metaфormoза came up at the Appollonia arts festival in Sozopol. It was there that, together with Tony and Miro we decided we wanted to play together. And that is the key to success – to be able to see something before it has actually happened. That is what brings together the right people at the right time. From then on, it all falls into place. To my mind, this energy is an energy of the spirit which will never stop unless you willfully stop it. And people realize that what is happening on stage is not preplanned, but is happening here and now. Most formations I work with improvise freely. We don’t rehearse, we just come out on stage and the process is there to be seen by all. That is what we do and I think the feeling that is conveyed is of an incredible flight across different dimensions that takes us higher every time.”

Rossen Zahariev-Roko is open to all kinds of different projects and not all of them are entirely musical – this summer he is to take part in a project that involves drama and dance. He is very keen on trying his hand at film-making.

The audio features the following pieces:

-  Sun is shining;

-  Metaфormoза;

-  Jaco.