Šimun Matišić Quintet - Tribute To B.P. (2021)

It is not a routine homage of the (unfortunately most often) courtly kind of facsimile scratchings according to the master's legacy, and by God, not even a mere stroll through some of the general places of the discography, but a real warm - warm and emotional - dedication to Boško Petrović.
Šimun is no longer a genius teenager who fascinated with the maturity of his musical thinking and virtuoso playing technique already with the first album, but a (still 'brazenly young') musician who has no need for playing exhibitionism. Pače, ready to share attention and time with the great musicians of his Quintet.
Simpler contemporary and more accentuated 'blues' clothing
Šimun knows very well that the measure and adherence to the maxim 'less is more' are far more important than the 'extra notes' and the speed of the solo, and 'humility' in front of the legacy of great authors/instrumentalists - no matter how controversial it may seem - the only true guide to one's own interpretation of someone else's original. Because 'Tribute To BP' is just such a project; an album in which he humbly bows to the legacy of the original, aware of its value and timelessness, but not shying away from giving his opinion. It is a formula that works flawlessly whenever the originals are approached with open hearts and open chakras as creative whirlwinds of one's own musical inspirations.
As, for example, in 'Blue Sunset' (a very well-known Boško blues standard 'for after midnight' with the trumpet 'boldly'" played by the BP Convention Big Band) which, with the performance of the great Šimunov Quintet - although apparently on the same track as the original - got a simpler contemporary and, I would say, more pronounced 'blues' clothing. Of course, the one with the excellent "lead" trumpet by Davor Križić, but no less striking piano by Matija Dedić and the excellent performance of Kruna Levačić's drums and Zvonimir Šestak's bass. The new reading perhaps - intentionally or not, it doesn't really matter - perhaps more than the original, highlighted the affinity of Boško's theme with the melodic phrase of Billie Holiday's blues standard 'God Bless The Child'. Šimun, of course, gave his pain but unselfishly leaving the main role to Križić and Matija.
A great ending to a great album
The new reading is even more pronounced in another general place of BP's discography – the theme of 'With Pain I Was Born'. Namely, in a new guise, instead of the guitar strumming that spiced up the well-known BP Convention performance from the 'BP Collection' box set, in a jazz-rock guise, it starts with Šestak's brisk bass and Levačić's fast, almost tribal toms, ensuring real drama at the very beginning and throughout the whole number hypnotic rhythmic weft. Of course with the wonderful interweaving of vibraphone and piano.
With the entry of Križić's trumpet and then Matija and Šimun, the whole theme seems to move towards Miles Davis from the 'Bitches Brew' or 'On The Corner' albums. Levačić's drums lead the theme to an orgasmic finale before Šimun's fantastic, almost lyrical finale. It came right before Matišić's sfumatous, emotion-soaked author's dedication to Boško and 'his' Grožnjan in the theme 'In Grožnjan, After All These Years'. Irradiated - with Matija's exceptional piano and Šimun's vibraphone - both jazz and classical.
What an ending to an already great album! And at the end, a very personal note: thank you to Šimun and the band with which he entered the studio for pushing me to spin CDs and records of the great Boško again, like before Boris Bučan to a brilliantly composed anthology on CDs or the famous 'box of biscuits' with 10 albums. Because Boško, just like his BP Club, obviously still fails me a lot.