Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"The Knit was humming with nonstop activity for more than seven consecutive hours in all three spaces as the second annual NYC Winter Jazzfest rolled on from 6 p.m. till past 1 a.m., giving downtown music regulars and out-of-towners attending the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) conference quite an earful of alternative sounds.
Guitarist Goran Ivanovic opened the proceedings in the Mainspace with his compelling hybrid of Balkan jazz blended with gypsy and klezmer sensibilities. A classically trained guitarist from Chicago, Ivanovic strummed his nylon stringed instrument with flamenco bravura while also forging tight, intricate unison lines with saxophonist Doug Rosenberg as bassist Matthew Ulery and drummer Michael Caskey set a furious pace. At times their odd-metered, blazing breakdowns recalled Ivo Paposov’s Bulgarian Wedding Band with strains of Middle Eastern flavor seeping into the mix. At its most serene, this unorthodox world music group resembled and instrumental version of the late-’60s acoustic group Pentangle, which brought a jazzy kind of verve to traditional British folk ballads while also blending in world music elements." (JazzTimes, Bill Millkowski)
"restlessly innovative work" (Los Angeles Times)
"lightning-fingered guitarist Goran Ivanovic" (Chicago Tribune)
"blazing virtuosity and sheer beauty" (Acoustic Guitar Magazine)
"Ivanovic is an exuberant interpreter...his tremendous energy is tempered with finesse and introspection...so that even the flashiest passages are graceful." (Chicago Reader)
"The Chicago-based Goran Ivanovic Group continues building up a real and loyal following thanks to its highly accessible blend of Eastern European folk and jazz-inspired compositions. Take away the mellifluous sounds of saxophonist Doug Rosenberg and the Group is like an agile Bela Fleck in Croatia, a simile not as crazy as you’d imagine- Ivanovic was born there." (Time Out)
"Goran plays with absolute technical security, wide range of tonal palate and remarkable musical sensitivity." (Eliot Fisk)
"Watching Goran play is like watching someone lost in a dream. His fingers dance over the strings playing subtle and soothing notes of classical guitar." (Daily Herald)
Portrait of the Guitarist as a Young Man (PDF 742K), by Craig keller (Chicago Social Magazine)
- Various
"The Knit was humming with nonstop activity for more than seven consecutive hours in all three spaces as the second annual NYC Winter Jazzfest rolled on from 6 p.m. till past 1 a.m., giving downtown music regulars and out-of-towners attending the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) conference quite an earful of alternative sounds.
Guitarist Goran Ivanovic opened the proceedings in the Mainspace with his compelling hybrid of Balkan jazz blended with gypsy and klezmer sensibilities. A classically trained guitarist from Chicago, Ivanovic strummed his nylon stringed instrument with flamenco bravura while also forging tight, intricate unison lines with saxophonist Doug Rosenberg as bassist Matthew Ulery and drummer Michael Caskey set a furious pace. At times their odd-metered, blazing breakdowns recalled Ivo Paposov’s Bulgarian Wedding Band with strains of Middle Eastern flavor seeping into the mix. At its most serene, this unorthodox world music group resembled and instrumental version of the late-’60s acoustic group Pentangle, which brought a jazzy kind of verve to traditional British folk ballads while also blending in world music elements." (JazzTimes, Bill Millkowski)
"restlessly innovative work" (Los Angeles Times)
"lightning-fingered guitarist Goran Ivanovic" (Chicago Tribune)
"blazing virtuosity and sheer beauty" (Acoustic Guitar Magazine)
"Ivanovic is an exuberant interpreter...his tremendous energy is tempered with finesse and introspection...so that even the flashiest passages are graceful." (Chicago Reader)
"The Chicago-based Goran Ivanovic Group continues building up a real and loyal following thanks to its highly accessible blend of Eastern European folk and jazz-inspired compositions. Take away the mellifluous sounds of saxophonist Doug Rosenberg and the Group is like an agile Bela Fleck in Croatia, a simile not as crazy as you’d imagine- Ivanovic was born there." (Time Out)
"Goran plays with absolute technical security, wide range of tonal palate and remarkable musical sensitivity." (Eliot Fisk)
"Watching Goran play is like watching someone lost in a dream. His fingers dance over the strings playing subtle and soothing notes of classical guitar." (Daily Herald)
Portrait of the Guitarist as a Young Man (PDF 742K), by Craig keller (Chicago Social Magazine)
- Various
Discography
Goran Ivanovic Group, Seven Boats (Album of the Year 2004 in Acoustic Guitar Magazine), Macedonian Blues.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The members of the group have a diverse and experienced background. Each musician brings a unique musical perspective to the band including jazz, classical, Balkan, Gypsy, and klezmer sensibilities. Formed in 2003, the group’s orthodox instrumentation has forged a sound which ignores borders that traditionally separate nations, cultures, and epochs. The group has created a musical idiom of its own imagining.
They have all performed on stages around the world and have collaborated with countless artists including Wynton Marsalis, Danilo Perez, Bob Moses, and Fareed Haque. In the Chicago area, members of the band regularly perform at prestigious venues such as the Chicago Symphony Center, The Metro, The Green Mill, Hothouse, Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago Cultural Center, Martyr’s, and The Double Door.
Links
