Bjonko - Enigma (2021)

Bjonko Stosic is a Danish musician, a clarinettist and saxophonist of South Slav decent. Although he’s marketed as part of the ‘Balkan Beat’ movement, his music is a far cry from the noisy, brash and aggressive strain all too often associated with that style. Instead, there is a poise, gentleness and almost understatement here, which is evident from the first track, ‘Once Upon a Time’ (which is in part a carefully thought-out version of the old dance melody ‘Ibraim Odža’). A good deal of the credit must go to Stosic himself, of course, whose tone and control over his instrument are impressive, but he is aided by his bandmates, and notably drummer Mikkel Villingshøj, whose playing is swinging and energetic, but never overbearing.
There is also a sense of good humour evident throughout, from the Nile Rodgers-inflected guitar of ‘Cloud Nine’ to the rappish fast-food foolery of ‘Burek King’. Still, it’s the more contemplative side of the music that wins out, displayed beautifully on the closing ‘Fragments’, an unaccompanied clarinet outing which, indeed, consists of fragments of the dances ‘Makedonsko Svadbarsko Oro’ and ‘Kupurlika’, in a deeply contemplative mode. ~Kim Burton

Tracks:
1/9 - Bjonko - Once Upon a Time (4:28)
2/9 - Bjonko - Enigma (feat. Eliel Lazo) (4:04)
3/9 - Bjonko - Cloud Nine (3:30)
4/9 - Bjonko - Crosswinds (4:46)
5/9 - Bjonko - Strange Sense (3:39)
6/9 - Bjonko - Burek King (feat. Klamfyr) (4:07)
7/9 - Bjonko - Eclectic Dance (3:10)
8/9 - Bjonko - Opa! (feat. Jokeren) (2:57)
9/9 - Bjonko - Fragments (2:44)