Bosnian drummer and jazz musician Adnan Teskeredžić will perform again this year at the Petrovac Jazz Festival, and his concert is scheduled for August 30. The comeback concert will be used to promote the current album "Journeys".
Last year, a terrible storm in Petrovac interrupted your performance at the Petrovac Jazz Fest. Have you prepared any program for chasing rain clouds this time?
Last year, our performance was interrupted by heavy rain that fell suddenly, it seems to me during the third composition, and since it is about jazz, it was about half an hour into our performance. What I have to say, and I was also surprised, is that the audience wanted us to continue the concert, and they simply did not want to go, although technically it was not possible, because the complete stage equipment had to be transferred to the interior space, which required a lot of time. The people I talked to were really delighted and we already promised them that we would come again, and here we are, two months away from our performance at the beautiful fortress in Petrovac na Moru. I think there will be no rain this time, and as for the repertoire, it is designed to attract as many audiences as possible.
Your music is a symbiosis of jazz with other musical styles, the most represented of which are ethnic motifs from this area. The majority of musicians from the Balkans who play jazz most often combine ethnic motifs and this genre. Is that an easier way to get the general public here to like Jazz?
I have to be honest that I didn't think about that at all when I wrote these compositions. In the foreground was, above all, the emotion that I heard through the music in me, somewhere deep inside me. I think that if you sincerely love something, and I love music very much, that sincerity in you turns into emotion, and then that emotion into music, which I must say turns into sincerity. When you do something sincerely, people recognize and feel it. Our performances are proof of that, because I return again to the emotions of the people who listen to us, what we have to say through each instrument separately, through each beat, their faces perhaps best say what kind of emotions we are talking about. If we talk about our compositions and the music we play, it is a symbiosis of many different styles, it contains elements of jazz, funk, but also traditional music, because why run away from our roots, from our tradition, that's who we are, that's in our blood. If they were running away from our tradition, from our sources, then they wouldn't be us, and then all the above story would fall into the water. I believe that the time has come when the market of the Balkans has never been saturated with insincerity, false emotions, music that is no longer music, but some mutant that is counted by views on YouTube or likes on Facebook and Instagram, but people will are tired of it. I think they have already started to get tired, to look for something different.
Last year you released the album "Journeys", are you satisfied with how it went?
The album "Journeys" was recorded in the past two years. When you start something like that, many unforeseen things happen. Many beautiful, not to say incredible, things have happened to my trio and me. I will mention only a few of them... when we released the music video for the composition "7/8 For My Father", the reactions of the audience were incredible at the promotion itself, as if people did not expect such a thing, the reactions were coming a few months later, not only from Bosnia and Herzegovina but also from the region. The composition "7/8 For My Father" became the absolute winner on the top list on the Croatian third radio in the show "Jazz Olovka". It was also broadcast on the radio in Novi Sad, and what makes me especially happy is when Aleks Petkovski from Macedonia contacted me, who was so enthusiastic about the composition that he expressed his desire to be a guest on the album. I didn't know Alex at all then, however, when I heard some of his compositions and ideas that he performs on an instrument called "caval", I immediately sent "tracks" for Macedonia and that's how "Ohrid" was born. That was proof to me that the trio and I are doing good things and that we are on the right path. I am very satisfied with the reaction of the audience, fellow musicians, support is important of course, but not crucial, I think the most important thing is to believe in yourself and what you do. The first run of the album is completely sold out, the second in an expanded edition is in preparation. Soon we plan to release our first DVD, which, I believe, will be completed by the time of the performance in Petrovac.
Through the compositions from the first album, you tried to describe the journey of the soul from this world to a better place. Given that everyone has lost someone at some point, what situation served as inspiration for your compositions?
It happened that 14 years ago I lost both parents. First the mother, and two months later the father. When you experience such things, whether you like it or not, you change, you look at life differently. The pain I felt then was perhaps the worst I have ever felt in my life. The whole album talks about that, and I believe that music can help, can ease that pain, so that while listening to it, only the most beautiful memories are awakened in you. I believe music heals. With that, we sincerely dedicate the album "Journeys" to all those who have lost a loved one or more.
The album is full of symbolism, how difficult is it to fit everything together and make the message clear at the end?
Our first album is called "Journeys", but there is a lot of symbolism in the title itself. The album was recorded and created between our travels, because as you know the life of a musician is very dynamic and we are almost constantly on the road, but we all tried and gave our best to finish this project in addition to all our obligations. Now I would base a little more on its primary meaning, which is about the journey of souls to some better place than this, to some better world that I deeply believe exists, otherwise a lot of it wouldn't make sense. The album contains several autobiographical compositions. I dedicated one of them - "7/8 For My Father" to my father, then there is the composition "October 7th", which I dedicated to my mother, the title of the composition represents the date when she moved to a better world, and the composition " '7:19AM' the time she left us. We will perform all these compositions at our performance. There is also the composition "Ohrid" by Vasil Hadžimanov, which he very gladly gave us and which we recorded and included in our album. This composition was written by Vasil with a dedication, we really liked it and only after we recorded the album did we see that it fit perfectly into what "Journeys" are about. I have to be honest and say that many things happened spontaneously, and when that's the case, it's not difficult to fit them in, simply, the pieces fell into place by themselves.
One of the compositions "7/8 For My Father" has an irregular rhythm that is characteristic of Macedonia. Will this composition, precisely because of the rhythm, be a favorite of fellow drummers?
What's interesting about this composition is that I first heard the music, the melody of themes A and B, I didn't think about the rhythm at all at that moment. Later it will turn out that it is an odd 7/8 rhythm, very characteristic of the area not only of Macedonia, but also of the Balkans. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have a lot of sevdalniki recorded in this rhythmic form, not to mention Bulgaria and traditional music. Whether it will be a favorite of fellow drummers, I can't answer that question, but what I know is that people really liked this composition and I'm very happy about that.
How much does it demotivate you as an author that this kind of music is rarely heard in the media?
I must admit that I am not demotivated at all, on the contrary, I am very motivated and soon the trio enters the studio and we start recording. What matters is how you set things up in your head. I don't think locally. The music we play is instrumental and as such knows no language barriers. In general, there are no boundaries or obstacles in my head, but stairs. The focus is important, and ultimately the goal. While I was studying, I came across a sentence that carries a very strong message: "Planning makes possible what otherwise would not happen". I am someone who plans everything in detail, and who patiently reaches the goal.
How difficult is it to work and create this musical direction in the Balkans?
If you really love what you do, then nothing is difficult and there are no obstacles. The trio consists, first of all, of my two good friends with whom I share the same views and the same thoughts. This is very important in the music world, especially if we are talking about creation and creation. Without the support of Lordan Muzaferija (bass guitar) and Kenan Glavinić (electric piano), I would certainly not have succeeded in many things. I must also mention our great friend Mirza Frljak Frky (saxophone), who is always there with us, and because of whom we will most likely move from a trio to a band. When you have a small team of people who support you in your ideas, then a synergistic effect is created, and there are no obstacles, no matter how hilly the Balkans may seem.
The jazz clubs claimed that we were too slow
Musicians who play jazz music from these areas are often told by critics, "this is great, but it's not for our areas". Have you had similar experiences and how much have things changed since you are involved in this musical direction?
I had similar experiences, they even told me that we were "too slow" for some jazz clubs. I'm thinking, then it's not a jazz club, but a disco, and I certainly don't want to play there, such places are definitely not for us, which I respect again, because that someone was at least honest, but completely ignorant of what we do and what our the music speaks. On the other hand, in my opinion it is much worse not to receive any response to a query or recommendation. I think it's a bit presumptuous. In today's world of telecommunications, of which I am an engineer, I believe that everything is available in the palm of your hand, on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, it doesn't matter, you can forward the answer to the query within a few seconds or minutes. I understand that some things take time, but not months or years. Not giving any answer to a query or recommendation is, in my opinion, unprofessional, rude and presumptuous. Things are the way they are right now, and I honestly don't allow any of the above to happen to me anymore.
Jazz is an inexhaustible source of inspiration
For a time you studied at the Vienna Conservatorium Jazz Academy in Vienna, how much did that experience mean to you and where did you get interested in jazz in the first place?
By passing the entrance exam, I realized a small dream from my childhood. In parallel, I studied at the Faculty of Traffic and Communications in Sarajevo, and the Vienna Koservatroium in Vienna, physically it was very difficult. In Sarajevo, I was finishing the Faculty, and in Vienna I was just starting, in the meantime the law on residence in Austria was changing, I could not meet certain financial conditions, so I had to leave my studies and return to Sarajevo. I must admit that it was very difficult for me, but I made many wonderful friends and excellent musicians with whom I am still in contact today, so being there was an unforgettable experience. Interest in jazz appeared at the very beginning of my musical upbringing, and a sincere love for this music appeared by studying the great musicians of the world, drummers especially, like Dave Weckl, whom I saw for the first time in my life when I was 11 years old. Later, many names appeared, and I would especially single out Dhafer Youssef, whose music still leaves a great impression and influence on me today. What attracted me and what still attracts me is primarily the sincerity in this music and the inexhaustible sources of inspiration.
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