July 1^st sees the online premiere of a new album on the Bulgarian music scene – JAZZANITZA – Live at ARCUB, Bucharest. Jazzanitza is also the name of the band created by Bulgarian drummer and composer Borislav Petrov and this is the band’s debut album which was released in 2016.

It is no secret that Bulgarian folklore is a source of inspiration for many young Bulgarian jazz musicians. Among them is undoubtedly also Bobby as Borislav Petrov is known as well as the musicians with whom he recorded his debut album – saxophonists Dimitar Liolev and Vladimir Karparov, guitarist Ludmil Krumov and other participants in the "ethno-jazz movement", in his own words. The compositions were also presented on a concert tour around the country. Here is the story of the new live album:

"A few years later we had the opportunity to give a concert at ARCUB – Bucharest, one of the most famous centres of art and culture in that country. The invitation came from saxophonist Cristian Soleanu, organizer of a series of concerts featuring famous jazz musicians from the United States and some Romanian and Balkan colleagues. I wasn't sure what would happen, because there were four of us – me, Liolev, Krumov and the double bassist Boris Taslev, and in the original line-up we are a sextet. The concert itself was very well announced in advance in the media, there were billboards all over Bucharest, the audience applauded us a lot and maybe that's why it was such a good concert. Fortunately, the sound engineer made a very good recording, and after hearing it with the boys, we decided to release it. Something new and different had happened, as if we were more fully expressing ourselves and our ideas about the connection between folklore and jazz.

We are releasing the album through an online platform that is for independent artists and offers many options - from streaming, downloading to CD distribution."

Jazz musician by education, Borislav "discovered" Bulgarian folklore relatively late – shortly before his studies in the Netherlands in the late 1990s. He shares that the deeper he goes into the knowledge of Bulgarian traditional music culture, the more humbly he looks at his achievements and those of his friends. The study of our folk music and its combination with the expressive means of jazz leads him to several other projects he is working on. He also undertook a scientific study:

"I started my doctorate at the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music", I study the drum styles in Balkan music with an emphasis on Bulgarian music. Going back to the history of performing arts in both folk music and jazz, I find out how much has been done in all areas – song adaptations, fusion and jazz projects. I can say that what our generation is doing is just a continuation of the tradition and our task is to develop and enrich it with the musical language of the 21^stcentury. My activities with Bulgarian folklore are no longer just about creating original music. For me, this has become a mission. I hope to gather the boys soon so that we can record my next album as a composer. The plays are ready, I hope we will succeed by the end of the year."

English Rossitsa Petcova