Montenegrin jazz musician Slaven Ljujic, from the very beginning of his artistic journey, has been building his career through a rich network of collaborations with prominent domestic and foreign musicians. It is precisely these collaborations, as he himself points out, that are key to his continuous development, both technically and expressively. Every meeting with colleagues, every joint performance or improvisation, leaves a mark and expands his musical vision.
This will continue to be the case in the coming days when he will share the stage with the talented French double bassist. Gabriel Pierre and a pianist Karim Blalom in several Montenegrin cities.
"I'm glad that Gabriel and Karim are coming to us for the first time and that they will get a chance to be inspired by our country for some new works," says Slaven Ljujić at the beginning of the interview for "Vijesti", from whom we are used to being different with each new project/composition. However, they will show their skills, but also the way they listen and follow other musicians on a mini tour as part of which they will perform in Nikšić tonight (Propaganda bar), then they will have two performances in Podgorica (21.5. club "Berlin" and 23.5. "Itakka bar"), and on Thursday 22 May they will perform at the PUB Gallery in Bar, and they will end the tour at the Kotor club "Evergreen".
"I constantly try to bring in other musicians, which means more collaboration and more people are introduced to our country and scene. In this way, there is an exchange of goods between them and us. All these different people make these projects authentic and special in their own way," explains the drummer, and reveals what they have prepared for this week's gathering with audiences across Montenegro:
"We have prepared an interesting repertoire for this tour. From original compositions to various jazz standards that we love in our own arrangements. Considering that these are excellent musicians, I have no doubt that all three of us will be 'in the moment' in true jazz fashion," Ljujić is certain.
"This is a serious tour, we will have five concerts. I am bringing two phenomenal jazz musicians who are present on the European and world jazz scene. I am glad that they are coming to us, that they will be able to see the cities and feel our energy. I am very happy that I am once again bringing the world to this very European and world jazz scene, and therefore we are becoming a part of that scene," notes Ljujić.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought numerous challenges, but also new solutions when it comes to musical creativity and work. At a time when travel and gatherings were limited, many musicians have turned to online rehearsals, discovering a certain amount of creativity and freedom in this format. However, nothing can replace the energy of playing music together live. Since the drummer Slaven Ljujić is from Podgorica, and the rest of the trio, Karim and Gabriel, are from Paris, they did not have the opportunity to practice together before the tour. However, as experienced jazz musicians, they managed to prepare a repertoire, and they will rely on the spontaneity and charm of improvisation, which are the essence of this genre.
"Corona is already a distant past. We live too fast and everything becomes a distant past. For us, making music is a chance to slow down and feel life as it should be. Human. Then we try to share and spread our charity, because when you make music, you really mean no harm. It makes us happy and knowing the repertoire allows us to play on the spot. Also, separation and living in different cities allows us to all make a different energetic contribution to improvisation," claims the interviewee of "Vijesti" who has achieved significant cooperation with colleagues from abroad. However, he mostly collaborates with musicians who are or have connections with France. When asked whether this means that they have similar sensibilities and how important it is that musicians "get it right away" in jazz, where there is a lot of improvisation, he answers:
"I have collaborated mostly with people from France because I am primarily a big fan of their music scene, their culture and their contribution to art on the European stage. In my opinion, Paris has the best jazz scene in Europe and I think the amount of music that happens and is created in that city every day is really fascinating. I get a lot of inspiration from that city. They welcomed me with open arms, I have a safe haven in that city and I am very happy that I constantly bring people from Paris to us and that I go there," he points out and does not hide the fact that the goal of every top jazz artist is to touch someone with their performance, i.e. enter the subconscious stage.
"It is important to step out of consciousness and simply travel to the subconscious. By doing so, we will step out of some frameworks and the sense of hearing, which is so powerful that wonderful things happen then. Those first impressions are made precisely by that moment of subconsciousness and sharing of energy on stage so that the musicians can predict in advance where they will go together. It is a kind of invisible energy that is realized in this type of performance. We know the material enough to be able to communicate in a common language and to understand who wants to go where, to be open enough to respect each other. If someone has an idea, the rest of us can sense it and feel in which direction they want to go and respect that," adds the interviewee of "Vijesti".
Ljujić has a lot of projects under his belt, but lately he has been focusing on working with foreigners. Although young, he has achieved significant collaborations so far, and he does not hide the fact that all of them have influenced the sound he cultivates today.
"Each of these projects contributes to my growth as both an author and a player. Considering that I lived in America and that at Berklee I was at the epicenter of events of that very world-class musicianship and jazz, Paris can really offer that level in Europe. My collaboration with foreigners contributes to our connection with Europe in the right way and to the European scene slowly becoming familiar with our jazz scene in this way. I believe that this is the only real path that is feasible," he is sure.
Jazz as a genre is becoming increasingly popular in Montenegro. At one point, together with colleagues including Enes Tahirović, Martin Djordjevic, Sara Jovovich Together they raised the scene to a higher level. They tried to leave a significant authorial mark, because there is no scene without authorial music.
“The fact that we are the second generation of educated jazz artists in Montenegro and therefore that there are more of us, has contributed to the development of individual musical projects as well as joint music making. I would mention 'Kuhinjazz' as the first project that united us and with which we recorded an album of original music. It gave us all the wind at our backs to throw ourselves into new creations, so I would mention Enes' project 'Emina' which created a wonderful blend of sevdah and jazz, and again many different musical influences permeate through his arrangements. Martin has his own project 'Nautilus' with colleagues from Serbia who have also recently released their debut album. I formed my 'Super Group' with my favorite musicians from Europe with whom I recorded my album in which I am an independent author for the first time. I would say that the jazz scene in our country is developing at its own pace, faster than last year, but much more important, because this time it is leaving behind works of art that enrich our cultural heritage. Therefore, the scene is not "It exists without authorship, just like an artist," the musician is sure.
Ljujić also referred to the fact that jazz in our country is still perceived as "music for a narrow circle of people."
"People have an interesting attitude towards jazz in our country. Ignorance and lack of interest, combined with the complexity of this art form, leads to the creation of a special attitude towards this type of music. For many, it is 'fear', because it increases the feeling of insecurity towards something that is new, different or, simply put, 'strange music'. For others, it is a kind of curiosity, 'we don't know but love, why not', and for others, our fans (who are not too many, but we love as if there are thousands of them) is a feeling of satisfaction, gratitude for what we do and not giving up. Jazz survives because it takes on new forms and is constantly developing. We are not yet sure if we are crazy about playing jazz in Montenegro, but we certainly love what we do," said Ljujić. Many musicians are currently creating a symbiosis of this musical direction with traditional music in order to bring it closer to a wider audience, and how he views these musical flirtations and symbioses with jazz and what is most important to him when creating, Ljujić says:
"Flirting with an ethno sound is a double-edged sword. If you don't know how, then you put yourself in a situation where you can very easily sound the wrong way, in a pub-like way. I have nothing against pub-like things, except when people try to sell it as 'art', and there's a lot of that," he concludes.
Melody is the foundation on which everything else is built.
When it comes to classical music, what is created today (contemporary classical music) is not always receptive to the ear. This “rule” is not only applied by composers of this genre, but other musical styles are often subject to it. In music, the most important thing is the melody, which should be receptive and singable. Ljujić reveals what he focuses on when creating and how much he sometimes improvises and changes the melodic line until a composition takes its final form:
"While creating my compositions for 'Hope Molecules', which will be released in September, I realized that the melody is the foundation on which I build everything else. It always comes spontaneously, most of the time while I'm washing dishes or exercising. When I have it, that is, when I like what I hear, then I start coloring it with harmony. The role of rhythm in all of this is that I hear it with the melody at the beginning. Actually, at the beginning I also hear the arrangement, the entire piece, but still playing with harmony can lead in different directions," explains the musician whose unwritten rule is to let a composition "stand still", to forget about it, and when he comes back and hears it again, to be sufficiently critical of it. He is ready to listen to the advice of one of his collaborators for the sake of a better solution to a certain phrase.
"It's a special feeling to present your own work to people who are your idols. Their advice is a gift, further complementing and enhancing it," he says honestly.
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