Uglješa Novaković - Reflections (2021)

Even in Europe, as in the United States, jazz has had to adapt, over time, to coexist with a huge number of different styles. The public has adapted to follow, according to their tastes, any type of musician who comes before him, who compares himself with tradition, with swing, with bop, with free. Despite this, European jazz still remains neglected, sometimes even by its own public, always fascinated by everything that comes from the States. Fortunately, some European musicians are able, with their proposal, to reconsider such a yardstick, drawing attention to themselves. In particular, in Serbia there is a scene, unknown to most, which is producing not only interesting music but also intelligence that in our opinion have all the credentials to be heard outside those borders. Our label has decided to focus on some of these musicians by taking care of their diffusion in the rest of Western Europe.
After the excellent work of Sanja Markovic, today is the time to introduce the music of saxophonist Ugljesa Novakovic, a celebrity in those parts. His resume stands out for his collaboration with trumpeter Dusko Gojkovic, perhaps the most "American" of Eastern European musicians, one who boasts collaborations with giants such as Miles, Dizzy, Sonny Rollins and a militancy in the historic Clarke-Boland Big Band. "Reflections" is a collection of music that draws inspiration from jazz in terms of openness but is above all the result of a succession of references to styles that the saxophonist has settled over the years thanks to experiences that have allowed him to develop an absolutely recognizable figure. A certain kind of attention to the so-called "spirituality" so much in vogue today - and it is something that somehow unites it to Markovic - is very evident, but it is its instrumental depth accompanied by a thread for unusual melodies that, we are sure, will be able to reach the ears of the most savvy fans.