...One of these original voices was born in 1968
in Belgrade: the great pianist Bojan Zulfikarpasic. Transpacifik,
his fifth release as a leader, is also his first trio date, featuring
bassist Scott Colley and drummer Nasheet Waits. This record represents
a personal statement that challenges the comparison menace.
www.allaboutjazz.com February 2004
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Bojan Zulfikarpasic, to give him his full name, is one of those
pianists who has an awesome arsenal which includes all the jazz
language as well as classical knowledge and a penchant for the folksongs
of his country.
Birmingham Post, Dec. 2003
The Joker is back (…) His marshalling of the keyboard has
elements of anybody from Byard to Monk right through to Tyner and
Wynton Kelly yet his melodic ingenuity and distinctively glistening
touch betray the influence of the khanoon players of Turkey and
the Middle East. Beyond his sound, it is Bojan’s narrative
drive that remains as rich as ever.
Echoes, Dec. 2003
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… he has moulded a style of notable excitement and contrast,
but his movement between these genres can be seamless or, for the
sake of stark contrast, abrupt.This underlines the most strikeing
qspects of his work – his use of sharply contrasting dynamics
and the percussive nature of his lines.
Jazz review, Dec. 2003
His playing has poise, elegance and originality and is best when
he incorporates elements of his own culture into his playing. (…)
Zulfikarpasic has much to say.
Jazzwise, Dec. 2003
He’s a powerful stylist with a percussive left hand and a
knack for arrestingly melodic right-hand runs. Drummer Nasheet Waits
and bassist Scott Colley back him superbly. It’s Bojan’s
best yet.
Yorkshire Post, Dec. 2003
Bojan Z’s Balkan roots soon surfacein the stealthily twisting
theme of The Joker, but his originality as a contempory composer
is clear on the limpid turns of Flashback. (…) a delicious
sample of personal, subtly-extended piano-trio potential.
The Guardian, 17 Oct. 2003
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Bojan Z has a distinctive way of developing his pretty themes and
taking them into a thicket of glowing chords. He's fond of virtuoso
flourishes - he does have a great technique to show off - but they
always stay rhythmically tight (…) And he always gets a distinctively
personal sound, whatever the piano (…)Bojan Z is gaining lots
of new admirers in the jazz world.
The Guardian, May 26th 2003
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His time, touch and facility were remarkable, as was his sense
of drama, contrast and dynamics. Most of all, he had such a vast
well of personal ideas to draw on that that he never seemed at a
loss for inspiration; as a result, his solos were a constant delight
(…) A night to savour.
The Irish Times, April 14th 2003
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He has a style of his own, which ranges from massive orchestral
pianism with gritty harmonies and wayward melodic notes and phrases
to minimal music of great simplicity and lyricism. There seems no
limit to Zulfikarpasic’s talent.
BBC Music Magazine, March 2002
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A formidable keyboard king (…) A standout disc of 2001, and
a fascinating confirmation of Zulfikarpasic’s already formidable
stature.
The Guardian, August 24th 2001
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On albums such as Yopla ! and Koreni, he has shown himself to be
a dynamic composer, a musician capable of harnessing a colouful
array of rhythms and marshalling them into arrangements that are
edgy and dramatic without being histrionic (…) the real triumph
of Solobsession … is its clarity of thought and extremely
communicative playing. It’s a one man show where you suspect
that the star is looking up at his audience not down at his own
fingers.
Echoes, August 2001
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