THE FAIRY TALE TRIO
Theodosii Spassov - Kaval, Vocal
Anatoly Vapirov - Saxophon
Stoyan Yankoulov - Tupan, Percussion
The music of the trio represents a unique mixture of jazz, improvisation and Balkan folklore music. The basis of this music is the old Bulgarian folk song - a constant change between the quiet sophisticated sounds of the wooden flute - Kaval - with the expressivity of the saxophone as well as the rhythm of the big drums - Tupan.
What has led them to this common project is the idea to combine different styles on the basis of the Bulgarian folklore - an experiment that has created a profound fusion of thoughts, time and roots. With the music of the Fairy Tale Trio the audience set out on a journey into an imaginary world of sounds.
DISCOGRAPHY
"A Fairy Tale" (Marko´s Music / 1997)
"Jazz Across The Border" (Wergo Records / 1999)
REVIEWS
Fairy Tale Trio
Traditional Bulgarian folk music commands an exceptionally rich heritage. Approximately 260,000 folk-songs are archivized in Sophia, 137,000 of which have been musically notated and over 5,000 folk-melodies are documented on tape recordings. One could logically assume that a trio so strongly rooted in the great Bulgarian music tradition would reproduce at least one of these melodies in their repertoire. Astonishingly, the Fairy Tale Trio does not. All of. the themes and pieces improvised upon by the three musicians are original compositions.
Actually the Fairy Tale Trio incorporates in its music many elements common to Bulgarian folklore : the irregular, asymmetrical meters, produced by the combination of different meters; the melodic and rhythmic allusions to the khoro-dance, and the use ofdiminished thirds and sevenths, so reminicent of the blue notes injazz. And yet Bulgarian folklore does not appear here verbatim, but is transformed through the dialogues of this trio into something exciting and new: a modern and contemporary Bulgarian music.
Folklore is not the objective here. It is not manipulated to conform to the needs of jazz. Quite intentionally the Fairy Tale Trio does not revert to known themes of traditional Bulgarian music. They are not allegated to a source of material to improvise upon. Even so, the roots of Bulgarian folk music are omnipresent - as spirit, as allusion, as a point of departure in a stylistic tour horizon, in which many strains and styles stand side by side in equality.
The centrifugal force of the trio lives and breathes from the idea of musical dialogue. Equality as the basis of musical partnership is the fundament of their improvisations. Within this consensus everything is allowed: clashes and frictions as well as convergences; musical excursions above and beyond the limitations of style and hybridization.
The Fairy Tale Trio creates a new, modern Bulgarian music which defies the usual definitions of jazz and folklore. Even the term "imaginary folklore", which nearly describes their style of music, is still insufficient. Most remarkably, the music of the Fairy Tale Trio is infused with the ongoing dialogue between three musicians of extremely varied life experiences.
A Journey of Three Into a Jazz Adventure
Enthusiasm from the very beginning - with those playing as well as with the audience. Vitality is breaking out, the process of improvising is developing its own dynamics. Three musicians lead us into an unruly and mystic mood of the Balkan regions. They take us with them - not as tourists but as collaborators. And with all their joy for playing music they don't act naively but avoid superficial fusions of jazz and folklore.
In the speed of the concert which is also marked by an incredible precision the three musicians find an unisono and undertake adventurous sound excursions.
Fusion doesn't seem to be the exact word for this music which is simply not possible without the experience of jazz. For the Bulgarian Fairy Tale Trio the alternative to colouring is the forming of its own experience only.
The Fairy Tale Trio plays a kind of hybrid music combining elements of Bulgarian folk music and jazz. Kaval player Theodosii Spassov has developed a style that allows him more chromatic and timbral possibilities than previously associated with that instrument, while soprano saxist Anatoly Vapirov can go from tricky folk melodies to Coltrane-like wailing in the space of a few notes. The trio is rounded out by percussionist Stoyan Yankoulov, who uses mostly the traditional tupan (a double-headed drum, played with sticks) with a few modern additions.
The music, composed by the trio, makes full use of their resources. There are a few odd-meter rave-ups, but there are also some quieter, textural pieces. The kaval and soprano sax take turns soloing and supporting each other, while the percussion supplies a sturdy rhythmic framework. There are also a few solos and duets that, along with great attention paid to dynamics, help keep the sound varied and interesting. In its more peaceful moments this reminds me a little of Codona, the old Don Cherry-Collin Walcott project. Then the musicians turn up the heat and could be mistaken for an Art Ensemble of Chicago offshoot. But the approach taken here is a melding rather than a juxtaposition, with the jazz elements logically flowing from the Bulgarian roots, and as such is one of the more successful folk-jazz fusions I've heard in some time.
[ go Back ] [ go Home ] [ go Top] [ login media ]