Bojan Z, crossing oceans

A French Jazzman in New York

Paris 

26/11/2003 - 

In 1993 Bojan Zulfikarpasic jetted across the Atlantic as a young jazz hope to record a debut album. Ten years later Bojan Z retraced his steps, heading back to New York to record his new album, Transpacifik. For the first time in his career the nimble-fingered pianist found himself working as part of a trio.

Bojan Z's seminal 2001 album, Solobsession, established him as one of the best European pianists of his generation. What, music fans asked, could possibly follow? The answer is Transpacifik, a collection of nine original compositions by Bojan himself plus Purple Gazelle, a masterly tribute to Duke Ellington inspired by the Ellington classic Angelica. Transpacifik is an album infused with Bojan's extraordinary energy, packed with an incredible emotional charge which surfaces in the delicate melancholy of tracks such as Bulgarska (based on the traditional Bulgarian piece Tche da ti kupim bela seitsa), the mischievous melody of The Joker and the lyrical mastery of Z-Rays. The album, which finds Bojan at the top of his form, also owes much to the exceptional alchemy of the trio the pianist formed with Afro-American drummer Nasheet Waitts and double-bass player Scott Colley (who has worked with the likes of Herbie Hancock and Chris Potter). RFI Musique hooked up with Bojan Z in a café near the Eiffel Tower and asked him about his travels and adventures to date:

RFI Musique: In a career spanning fifteen years and five albums, you've never recorded anything as part of a trio before now. Don't jazz musicians generally start out as a trio?
Bojan Z: You're right, they do. But surprisingly enough I didn't. I started out as part of a quartet, then I branched out as a solo artist - and now I've finally got round to a trio! It's true, though, trios are a bit of a rite of passage in the jazz world. When the idea for this trio first came up with Pierre Walfisz from Label Bleu, my first thought for someone I'd like to have on board was Scott Colley. I'd bumped into him regularly on the festival circuit and liked what I'd heard. It was Pierre who suggested I should work with Nasheet Waitts whom I didn't personally know at that point. The new album's a real piece of teamwork.

Had you ever returned to New York since you recorded your first album there in '93 with Julien Lourau on sax?
No, and I can't say I especially wanted to either. I've travelled a lot in Europe and North Africa. I'm someone who's immensely curious about all kinds of different cultures, but quite frankly I prefer tajine to MacDonald's! As someone of Yugoslav origin who's lived in France since 1988 – and is now French – I'm like a lot of other Europeans who feel completely out of step with George Bush's America. So I have to admit it was at a point when I felt the least amount of curiosity about the U.S. that I found myself going to New York. But it turned out to be a good moment to go there, because I'd become completely locked into this stereotype of what I thought America was. And obviously when you get there the reality is a lot more complex than you'd ever imagined. I met plenty of men and women in the U.S. who feel completely out of step with the Bush administration. Having said that, though, I haven't become totally pro-American or anything!

How did the recording sessions in New York go?
Well, I have to say I'm extremely grateful to Scott and Nasheet. They were totally flexible about going along with what I came up with. I obviously made sure they got copies of my compositions beforehand, but music on paper is only the promise of a promise. It's only when you get into the studio that you start creating together for real.

Is writing music something that comes to you easily?
I'm lucky enough to be in a position where I make the music I want to make and manage to make a living from it. When I go into the studio to make an album it's because I'm ready to record the music I hear in my head. With this album there were tracks I was absolutely burning to record. But I wouldn't say writing is something that comes to me easily. Composing is always a painful process. I'm very exacting with myself and I end up throwing plenty of stuff away!

On your new album you play your Faziolli piano as well as a Fender Rhodes. Is this a new music trend?
I've always had my own Fender. I played it on my first album, in fact. I think it's true to say that the Fender has a very particular sound which is coming back into fashion right now. When we were in the studio I actually had both instruments to hand and I'd try out stuff on both of them at the same time. I can't decide when I'm writing something whether I'll play such and such a track on the Fender or the piano. Anyway, I've got two hands so if I played the piano with my left hand and the Fender with my right you could get both instruments on all tracks if you wanted!

Do you play every day?
Yes – unless it's absolutely, absolutely impossible! I need to play every day. It's not just a pose or an obligation to work on my instrument every day. It's a vital need. Playing calms me down.

Bojan Z Transpacifik (Label Bleu) 2003

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