Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Jazz Ravne & ICS Zmaj
Label: Self-released
Release: 2016
Rating: 4/5
This one’s an interesting release. Even if some might see it as a well-tested story and an idea that’s already been done, it’s definitely a special document. For this project, the children’s jazz orchestra of the Jazz Ravne school joined forces with JAMzi, a children’s choir from across the border that belongs to the ICS Zmaj cultural society in Klagenfurt. The kids’ choir lends plenty of support and seasoning to the new takes on some all-too-familiar folk standards, while the bulk of the actual realization on this record falls on the shoulders of the Jazz Ravne school’s children’s orchestra.
It’s a collection of traditional Slovenian folk songs rearranged in their own peculiar way and steered into jazz tunes. Imagine the Big Band RTV Slovenija played by members around 10 years old (give or take a year). Here’s a tip: don’t be too demanding of the kids.
The arrangements were adapted by some seasoned and respected masters of the Slovenian jazz scene, who also took on most of the mentoring, i.e. tutoring, roles. They also chipped a few bits of jazz improvisation into the substance of the record, with the unmistakable jazzy twisting and turning of Igor Bezget, the “Slovenian John McLaughlin,” standing out among others.
In short, the album “Marko Skače” packs a whole bag of fun and relaxation into one place, following the schooling of Slovenia’s young jazz hopefuls. How do you show a young student a motif they know inside out, one that’s been ringing in their head since they were tiny, so that a horizon opens up for free-spirited, flexible variations of improvisational play on that very same motif? So that, by following their own musical perception, they manage to air out the given motif as wittily and vividly as possible into something unusual and not yet heard? Appropriate to their age and level, of course. Who knows what talents are hiding in the Jazz Ravne school orchestra and which names will soon rise from among them and leave a notable mark on the Slovenian music and jazz scene. Perhaps even on the wider international stage. You never know around which corner the next Marko Črnčec might be hiding. Great things from small beginnings, then. This document is also a lovely keepsake for everyone who took part in it.
Lineup
Šola Jazz Ravne:
Aljaž Dobnik (trumpet), Blaž Podrzavnik (alto saxophone), Filip Dihpol (French horn), Gašper Verhnjak (trombone), Jaka Ikovic(tenor saxophone), Januša Skornšek (violin), Jaš Završnik (alto saxophone), Jure Tamše (drums, percussion), Marko Petek (baritone saxophone), Marko Prikeržnik (clarinet), Matevž Štrekelj (trumpet), Miha Petek (trumpet), Neža Verbovšek (flute), Tilen Čepin (trumpet), Urška Vravnek (flute), Valentin Gorenšek (percussion, drums)
JAMzi choir, KD ICS Zmaj:
Ajda Kušej, Annika Friedl, Barbara Smolnik, Brina Kušej, Eva-Magdalena Angerer, Hannah Križman, Jana Haab, Laura Travar, Lucija Pfeifer, Mia Schneider, Marietta Friedl, Mirna Filipič, Nastasja Habernik, Noa Sabotnik, Victoria Pucher
Mentors and supporting lineup:
Samo Kolar, Igor Bezget, Edi Oraže (choir director), David Jarh, Oskar Kolar (bass), Gašper Obšteter (drums, percussion)
Production
Aleš Kajtna
Track list
1. Marko skače
2. Čuk se je oženil
3. Po Koroškem po Kranjskem
4. Dere sem jaz mali bija
5. Zrejlo je žito
6. Četica
7. Dekle je po vodo šlo
8. Šmentana muha
