Svetlost w/Nilssen-Love & Vandermark pt. 1
Rehearsals with Deni Omeragić, Kiko Novkovski (pictured above), and Nino Spirovski of Svetlost began in Skopje on April 13th. We were able to work through four out of the five compositions I wrote for the project, quite an accomplishment considering we had never played together and I had not met all of them until the day before. On Tuesday, Paal Nilssen-Love will arrive and we’ll have my material and the pieces organized by Svetlost prepared to go over with him in advance of our first concert here on Wednesday, April 16th, at MKC.
This is my fourth trip to Skopje, the most recent visit taking place almost nine years ago, with Made To Break for the Skopje Jazz Festival in October of 2016. Before that, Sonore (2003) and the Vandermark 5 (2001) performed at the festival. This is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to be in the city for more than basically a day, and the experience has been fantastic, both musically and socially.
From the artistic standpoint, the material being generated by this project is something of a juggernaut, one that will become more so after the addition of Paal. Though working with bass players and creating basslines are some of my favorite things to do, for various reasons my most recent regular outlets for my compositional work, Marker and now Edition Redux, have not included that instrument. So, getting a chance to write electric bass parts and hearing Deni’s approach to them has been tremendous pleasure. He and Kiko’s rapport as a rhythm section is fantastic, and I can already hear how Paal’s approach to the drums and our experience of playing together for decades is going raise the level of creative intensity for the band. From my perspective, collaborating with another horn player is most successful when the musical strategies are different yet complementary. I’m already feeling this connection with Nino and am excited to see where it’s going to lead over the next four concerts and the recording session.
Nino Spirovski and Deni Omeragić
Culturally, just after a couple of days, I feel like I’m being exposed to a ton of information. First there’s the generosity and hospitality, not just of the members of the band, but everyone they’ve introduced me to. I’ve got to mention that this project would not have been possible without the assistance of Can Inandim, who I met in Istanbul years ago, and contacted me in September of last year to propose this collaboration with Svetlost- I wouldn’t be in Skopje right now if it weren’t for all of them.
From the social-political outlook, what I’m being told regarding city/state politics here should be a warning lesson for the United States. There is a holding pattern of dysfunction created by the back-and-forth shift between political administrations, one that impacts all aspects of social welfare. The power play for control means things like a hospital start to get built by one government then, after they’ve been ousted after a few years, the next regime abandons the project, which is left to sit half built, as the new order starts to construct another one. And on and on and on… Politicians, corporations, and lobbyists for each party profit while the people continue to suffer.
The ruins of the huge performance center where the Vandermark 5 performed in 2001, sitting abandoned in the center of Skopje for about a decade.
Svetlost with Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark concerts:
April 16: Skopje, Macedonia, MKC, 8:30pm. Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/513493238308410/
April 17: Sofia, Bulgaria, Club Singles, 7pm. Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1681087965821207/
April 21: Pula, Croatia, Klub Kotač, 9pm. Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AKwiAu2E3/
April 22: Ljubljana, Slovenia, Klub Gromka, 8:30pm. Link: https://www.facebook.com/share/18nHFyfEcH/