Martin Lubenov
Sofia, Sofia-Capital, Bulgaria | INDIE
Music
Press
Martin is a musician who defies the common notion of the accordion’s musical inferiority. He possesses brilliant technique, taste, finesse, and is deeply rooted in the Bulgarian folk music. He combines this with the jazz idiom seamlessly….I think Otto Lechner and Martin Lubenov increase the small company of Astor Piazzola, Dino Saluzzi and few other great accordionists. - Milcho Leviev 2005
The most iridescent traditions of the Balkans meet in his unconventional play: Macedonian-Bulgarian folk music and music of the Rom living in the southern part of the Balkans, constantly developing, bursting with vivacity. Add to this musical base jazz, tango nuevo, Parisian musette, Serbian, Roumanian, Greek and Turkish music, breathtaking virtuosity and unusual arrangements: That’s Martin Lubenov. - Manfred Horak, Jazzzeit 2004
Martin Lubenov has developped his own, very original and personal style – virtuous and groovy at the same time. In short, Roma music of the new generation, innovative and open to outside influences. - Etudes Tziganes, Francis Couvreux 2004
His playing is one long stream of delight … a mixture of razor-sharp performance and imaginative passion. - Songlines, Kim Burton 2005
An excellent album which combines tradition with jazz and improvisation in an intelligent and delicate way.
- All about Jazz Italia, Neri Pollastri 2005
... an incredibly well done mix of great jazz virtuosity and fiery macedonian-bulgarian tradition.
- Kurier, Andreas Russ 2006
The swing of this rare alliance between Bebop and Bosporus impresses with maturity and elegance.
- Vibrations, Thierry Sartoretti 2006
Whereas „Dui Droma“ represents an emotional, mature hommage to Lubenov’s Romani roots, instrumental brillance predominates on „Veselina“..... Apart from his virtuosity, Martin Lubenov stands out through his openness and hunger for musical input. Watch out for more surprises during the next few years!
Andreas Felber, March 2006
- Jazz Podium, Andreas Felber 2006
Discography
Martin Lubenov Orkestar. Dui Droma/Two Roads. Connecting Cultures CC 50018.
Martin Lubenovs Jazzta Prasta Band. Veselina. Connecting Cultures CC 50026.
Photos
Bio
MARTIN LUBENOVS
JAZZTA PRASTA
B a l k a n J a z z f r o n t a l
Jasta prasta is a Bulgarian slang expression and means something like confusion, hubbub, everything upside down. Behind this autoironic title we find one of the probably most original Balkan jazz groups of our days.
Bulgarian master accordionist Martin Lubenov has formed it starting from his former band Orfej. Jazzta Prasta only absolute professionals can name their project like this, knowing that each composition, each sentence is perfectly elaborated, but due to their joy of playing and improvisation skills they appear as if done offhand.
What makes Jazzta Prasta so unique and distinguishes them from other Balkan jazz groups?
First of all their unusual easy optimism, their smart humour, their infantile-frisky juggling and dropping and then, in the last moment, catching again the Balkan pathos and melos. Elegance, technical brilliance and the band members innovative tunes, especially those of 36 year old Martin Lubenov, whose compositions bear an unmistakable signature. And further the felicitous fusion of old South-East-European traditions with latin-american elements and ideas of the broad fund of swing and modern jazz.
Jazzta Prasta play intelligent ethno jazz for all intelligence quotients, that is to say: Music that, in spite of its complexity, opens people and makes them feel good.
Martin Lubenov is born in Sofia in 1976. The most iridescent traditions of the Balkans meet in his unconventional play: Macedonian-Bulgarian folk music and music of the Roma living in the southern part of the Balkans, constantly developing, bursting with vivacity. Add to this musical base jazz, tango nuevo, Parisian musette, Serbian, Roumanian, Greek and Turkish music, breathtaking virtuosity and unusual arrangements: Thats Martin Lubenov.
Martin studied classical music and jazz in Sofia and Vienna. His roots in the vibrating ground of balkan wedding music kept him from becoming an academic musician. And fortunately his musical education helped him quite soon to outgrow popular music, to which a lot of Roma musicians on the Balkans are confined. In 2001 Martin Lubenov moved to Vienna in order to study and soon became a link between the music of Yugoslav and Macedonian communities and the Austrian folk and world music scene.
Fast his talent got around and numerous musicians and bands invited him to collaborate, such as for example the Wiener Tschuschenkapelle or Sandy Lopii Orkestar. In addition to this, he has been instrumentalist and arranger for the Jony Iliev Band in Bulgaria.
2005 Jazzta Prasta won the Austrian World Music Award, and in 2006 Martin Lubenov was awarded the prestigious French Prix Gus Viseur, category Jazz/World. In 2008 he realized joint projects together with Austrian saxophonist Wolfgang Puschnig and some important names of the international accordion scene: Richard Galliano (France), Renato Borghetti (Brazil), Danas Ocultas (Portugal) .The documentary Jazzta Prasta (Camera Film, Sofia) on his life and career between Sofia and Vienna was presented at the International Sofia Film Festival in March 2009 and was equally selected for the Womex Film market in 2009.
website:
www.myspace.com/martinlubenov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMRVnxyqI98
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaK-Cg4Vsu0&feature=related
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