On October 10 and 11, the Bulgarian Army Theatre in Sofia is turning into a musical stage. The reason – shepherd’s pipe player Theodosii Spassov who is bringing together performers from all Balkan countries, playing a wide range of music – from folklore, through world, to jazz, the keyword here being “improvisation”. Over two days the theatre will open doors for the first edition of the Brick Roads International Music Festival, with the support of Sofia Municipality. Here is more from Ivan Minchev, one of the organizers of the event:

“At the Army Theatre the public will be able to listen to a programme, compiled entirely by Theodosii Spassov. He has brought together his “brothers in arms” the “arms” being music, musicians he has worked on different projects with over the years who have all carved a name for themselves on the European but also on the world stage. The first festival day features the Vasil Hadžimanov ethno-fusion Band – the musicians have released five albums, three of which have gone gold. We have invited them before, to the Plovdiv Jazz Festival, this time they will be performing with lead singer Bajram Kinolli (Kosovo), in itself proof that music knows no ethnic or political bounds. The second band featured on the first night will be Kostas Theodorou’s band. They will present their project Lost Anthropology. The Greek bass player is a prominent name here in Bulgaria after he took part in the Balkan Horses project with Theodosii Spassov some years ago, a project that paved the way to the Balkan fusion of ethno and jazz.  The two performers have an album together, released in Greece. Now, at the Army Theatre Kostas Theodorou will be performing brand new pieces, featuring piano, trumpet, but also bayan (an instrument typical of Eastern Europe resembling an accordion but with buttons on both sides and no keys), with guest musician Izzet Kizil, Turkey.”

Here is Ivan Minchev with more about the second day of the Brick Roads International Music Festival:

“Romania’s foremost jazz singer Teodora Enache-Aisha will be performing in Bulgaria for the first time. Here she will be presenting her project Impressions of Pangaea featuring Daniele di Bonaventura (bandoneon), Italy and Ghassan Bouz (percussion), Lebanon. The festival will wind up with the Hemus Collective project which also brings together musicians from different countries. Alongside Theodosii Spassov they will perform pieces from their joint album Escapism, whose sleeve shows Sofia’s emblematic yellow paving stones; from them Theodosii got his idea for the title of the festival.”

“The idea of the Hemus Collective project was to bring together musicians from the Balkans who have made their name outside their countries,” Theodosii Spassov says. “Bojan Zulfikarpašić, better known as Bojan Z is of mixed origin – Bosnian and Serb, has studied in Paris and lives there; he was declared Europe’s best jazz musician in 2005. Martin Gjakonovski (double bass) is from Skopje but lives in Cologne. He has taken part in more than 80 albums recorded by different world performers. Percussionist Kostas Anastasiadis was born in Kilkis but has graduated in California and now lives in Greece. He invented a revolutionary method of playing percussion instruments, so the Hollywood Musicians Institute he has graduated instituted a special prize in his name. The three have universal musical talents and are freely able to mix different world music styles.”

The first album of the Hemus Collective project – Escapism – features 8 pieces composed especially for the project and recorded in Bulgaria.

Both nights the concerts at the Army Theatre will be followed by club jam sessions: On October 10 with Miro Turiiski quartet and on October 11 with Shibil Benev Trio.

The audio file features the following pieces:

-  Mountains, from the Theodosii Spassov-Kostas Theodorou album Cosmopolis;

-  Four Cats and One Moon, Theodosii Spassov;

-  Brisk and vigorous, by Bojan Z from Hemus Collectiv’s album Escapism.

English version: Milena Daynova