Svetlost w/Nilssen-Love & Vandermark pt. 2

[photo by Can Inandim; left to right: Deni Omeragić, Paal Nilssen-Love, Ken Vandermark, Nino Spirovski, Kiko Novkovski, and Vladan Drobicki]

Following a second rehearsal with Deni Omeragić, Nino Spirovski, and Kiko Novkovski on Monday afternoon, Paal Nilssen-Love joined the project on Tuesday after flying from Chicago to Oslo on Monday, going to his home outside of town to do construction on it, then returning to an airport hotel that night so he could to fly to Skopje at 6am to meet with the group.  Of course his flight was delayed.  After arriving at the apartment he’ll be sharing with me and quickly dropping off his luggage, we went to get some much needed coffee with Deni and the sixth member of this endeavor, sound engineer Vladan Drobicki, who has been at all the rehearsals to be prepared for the recording we’ll be doing on Saturday after the band’s first two concerts.

Having a couple of rehearsals in advance of Paal’s arrival was incredibly helpful.  In addition to everyone being able to learn the written material, I was able to create arrangements for my pieces while keeping the improvisations open ended.  These components prepared for Paal meant it was much easier for him to grasp the music.  Not surprisingly, and despite serious exhaustion and jetlag, he jumped right in, providing new drum and percussion parts that fit perfectly with what Kiko was playing and worked beautifully with the material overall.  Not surprisingly, the intensity of the music- which was already high- jumped exponentially with the addition of Paal.  With musicians as creative as this, understanding the material was not an issue.  The challenge is one of balancing the energy and mass with a full dynamic range.  When we develop that aspect of the music as a group it will give it an extraordinary power.  So much done in so few days!

All my thanks to Deni, Kiko, Nino, and Paal for their hard work bringing their and my material together.  Much appreciation again to Can Inandim for suggesting me for the project, and also to Oliver Belopeta and the Skopje Jazz Festival for their support.  Getting to collaborate with people like this is keeping me sane during the times we’re faced with, both at home and on the road.

Svetlost with Paal Nilssen-Love & Ken Vandermark tour:

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/

JUST ADDED: April 20: Belgrade, Serbia, Strogi Centar, 9pm. Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/s/svetlost-with-ken-vandermark-p/2195834940853296/?rdid=MNMGFFmGQHPrVylb&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2F16PzbmuygT%2F#

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/