Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Ljubljana / SITi Teater / Slovenia
Concert date: November 30, 2016
Attendance: 200
Ticket price: €15.00 (advance) / €18.00 (day of show)
Our jazz fusion champions Moonlight Sky took over the hall of Ljubljana’s SiTi Teater for a special evening devoted to their latest, fourth studio album »The Four« (RockLine review HERE), sharing the stage on a few tracks with two special guests, vocalist Marta Kostursko and clarinetist Goran Bojčevski. The concert hall at SiTi Teater was nicely packed that night, which is a fine sign that in more than fifteen years together Moonlight Sky have earned the well-deserved respect of local jazz fusion and progressive rock fans. Sure, that was by no means the key to a successful show, but it definitely helped the overall vibe and the magic of an evening of top-class, instrumentally spiced fusion with touches of jazz, rock and world music, especially the kind from the former ‘brother’ republic of Macedonia, which the band members have a particular soft spot for.
Moonlight Sky opened with »Tour de Vir«, the fiery opening track of the new studio effort »The Four, which they played in full for the occasion, although in a different order than on the album. All four musical virtuosos, who also juggle other projects and teach their instruments, were in great spirits all night long, tossing a few short improvisations into most of the new compositions along the way, while some of the solo spots were a real feast for the ears. Both founding members, the always cheerful guitar maestro Miha Petric and the dynamic bassist Janez Moder, were in fantastic form, while new keyboard wizard Jan Sever and one of our very best drummers, Žiga Kožar, were a chapter all their own too, especially when it came to showing off their virtuosity and their feel for twisting, turning rhythmic nuances. Miha Petric has been among the top of our most talented guitarists for years, so watching him pick the strings up close, where he blends speed and subtlety almost perfectly within his remarkable technique, is always a treat.
During »Nearest to Inexpressible« we were pleasantly surprised by a superb clarinet solo from Goran Bojčevski, who played it up on the balcony, no less, just for the occasion, though he did join the band on stage later in the set. After presenting the whole batch of »The Four« tracks, wrapped up with »But I Like the Blues«, where the band briefly returned to their stylistic roots, Moonlight Sky showed off their longtime love of world music, especially Macedonian folk music. They invited vocalist Marta Kostursko of Perpetuum Jazzile onto the stage, and she performed the evergreen »Eden baknež« solo, with a lot of feeling. Just to refresh your memory: in 1962, that song won the Opatija ’62 festival in the version by Zoran Georgiev. For the next number, the Macedonian traditional song »Da sum bistra voda«, Petric and Moder joined Kostursko in a graceful way, and together they conjured up a deeply intimate, melancholic mood.
For »Kalajdžijsko oro« and »7/8 oro«, traditional Macedonian dance pieces popularized mainly by the legendary Leb i Sol, or rather Vlatko Stefanovski, the in-top-form Bojčevski rejoined Moonlight Sky, and his fiery clarinet turned the atmosphere in the hall lively again after two calm, ‘still life’ numbers. Along the way there were also a few short, wonderfully witty solo ‘duels’ between Petric and Sever. In the encore, Moonlight Sky, together with Bojčevski and Kostursko, who only came out to sing a single verse for the big finale, played the Bulgarian traditional song »Jovano Jovanke«, which became popular mainly on Macedonian soil. The version Moonlight Sky played that night was modeled on the Leb i Sol interpretation from 1986, better known among fusion fans. Moonlight Sky closed the show with an outstanding rendition of that beloved evergreen and, to thunderous applause, thanked the crowd for their solid support.
Moonlight Sky delivered a top-notch atmospheric experience at SiTi Teater, serving up not only an outstanding take on their latest studio effort but also a colorful selection of evergreens from the treasure chest of Macedonian musical heritage. The members of Moonlight Sky, and both guest musicians as well, all deserve heartfelt congratulations for an exceptional performance and a more than successful launch of the new studio project, which, by the way, is a great achievement and can already be counted among the best releases of the local jazz fusion scene. The only minor gripe about an otherwise excellent, flawless Moonlight Sky show at SiTi Teater is maybe that some of us missed hearing something older from their first three albums, but given that the spotlight was on a full run-through of the new album plus a special set of Macedonian evergreens that suited both guests too, there was absolutely no reason to be unhappy.
Setlist
1. Tour de Vir
1. Taino
3. Makedonska
4. Microcosm
5. Nearest to Inexpressible
6. Šestka
7. Alegria Light Hours
8. But I Like the Blues
9. Eden baknež
10. Da sum bistra voda
11. Kalajdžijsko oro
12. 7/8 oro
—encore—
13. Jovano Jovanke
Photo Gallery
