Jurica Leikauff - Rush (2016)

Jurica Leikauff is one of the stars among music insiders, so much so that even his boss at the Prljavo kazalište, Jasenko Houra, admits he is a world-class instrumentalist.

Leikauff's playing is felt, his delicate and sophisticated handwriting on the keys is heard, and on the album " Rush " he is a solid composer who understands telepathically with his fellow musicians who have the same name as Leikauff. The album plays an affordable, melodic smooth-fusion-funk-jazz that rarely falls into the trap of aimless pimping, and which is a finely packed piece of music played with heart and fingers. However, what the listener will first notice is that this piece is well-played and that its lead author is actually quite shy about showing his or her own soloing skills. Leikauff's solos are and are not in the foreground, it's not that they are gone, but at no point does the album feel like "what the hell is the kid doing on the keyboards".

"Get Used 2 It", in addition to instrumental passages, also brings interesting vocal harmonic lines, without words, while "Stroke Stroke" boomed, with an effective riff on keyboards driven, dedication to Leikauff's hometown. The team is having a great time and it will be clear to the listener as well why - the guys like to play what they play. Of the nine numbers, the most striking in the eyes and ears is the pastoral "Hank's Thing" with delicate flute sections played by Arsen Eres. The introductory “Fusie Q” is perhaps the most predictable. Instrument structures are relatively conventional and drinkable, which is expected for someone who is not yet a proficient author.

Although the Chui group is still number 1 in Croatia in terms of fusion jazz, Jurica Leikauff is seriously running for this album so he can say something about it. He feels that most of the time he plays music that he is not the author of, but with this album he could gain confidence in his composing capacity , and as we know, confidence works wonders.