Matilda Leko&Band

TRANSLATION of the German original

PRESENTING…..
She sings in Serbian, English, Portuguese and Jiddisch. She sings of taciturn men and other images. Text: Samir Köck
Matilda Leko. Her timbre goes under your skin. As a follower of Ella Fitzgerald Matilda Leko shows technical brilliancy as well as charisma. Famous musicians like Harri Stojka and Wolfgang Puschnig called on her talents in the past.
Absolutely natural and very, very soulful she presents her first solo CD „Different Point of View“ which she recorded with her permanent trio and a few special guests.
Her musical voyages go from the Balkans to Brazil and Africa, and naturally to the birthplace of jazz –the USA.
In a delicate, masochistic Blues manner Matilda Leko contemplates the phenomenon of the „taciturn man“ and the dizzying power of projections and images.
If she does cover versions at all- like at the NoviSad Jazz Festival- it has to be complex songs like Abbey Lincoln`s „Throw it Away“.
There seem to be no limits for Matilda Leko.
All of these are excellent pre-requisites for an international career, which should start anytime.
Matilda Leko CD „Different Point of View“ Peca/Hoanzl - Samir Köck

TRANSLATION of the German original

CONCERTO 1/2012 www.concerto.at portrait

Matilda Leko:
The joy of music without boundaries
Critics of vocal music endure hearing standards a thousand times and then they should still be able to make a balanced judgement.
But sometimes there are surprises – the Serbian-Austrian composer and singer Matilda Leko – the Austrian answer to Maria Joao.
Her roots come from Gipsy and Balkan music with later influences of Jazz and Blues. Those elements make Matilda Leko the unique musician she is today.
It does not matter if she sings Balkan music or if she presents music she herself has composed- she always succeeds in inspiring the audience. A typical example would be „Jadanaestica“, which could become a new Jazz standard easily – and the very likeable singer mentions en passant that she composed it herself.

Attractive crosssing-border effect
Matilda Leko is indeed capable of breaking down and crossing boundaries.
From hardbop presenting neck breaking scats, which remind of Mark Murphy to melancholic ballads reflecting the heritage of the Balkans – those are the elements of spell Matilda Leko puts on her audience. And with the performance progressing into the night this gets more and more pronounced.
Also contributing to this special night and the wonderful CD „A different Point of View“ are the excellent pianist Nikola Stanosevic, the bassist Stefan Thaler and the drummer Dusan Novakov. A few additional special guests contributed to the CD – the pianist Johannes Thoma, the violonist Jelena Poprzan, the cellist Rina Kacinari and the flutist Renate Kreuzwieser in the ballades „To You“ and „Mrs Jazz and Mr Green“.

A performance full of esprit and charm
Matilda Leko´s charm bewitches the audience.
„Music found me when I was a child. I could express my sorrow and my happiness through music, without being aware of it.... And then music became my life - helping me to transform all the feelings within my soul into beautiful colours of music.. I believe I am a lucky person “.
It is obvious that the singer has always listened to various music styles and it is easy for her to interpret the folk music of the Balkans as she presents this music effortlessly during the evening. It is also here that it becomes clear that she is not happy just reproducing a traditional song. Matilda Leko puts traditional music in new wrappings without changing the original emotionality or intention.



World Music made in Austria
In 1998 Matilda Leko left Serbia to study Jazz at the University of Music in Vienna. She wanted to see behind the curtain and to learn new things to implement in her music.
A critic wrote once that 20years ago the environment in Europe was quite similar to the one in New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century. In New Orleans the rhythms and the melodies of the black population caught the interest of white people. This process continued for more than half a century. The idea of equality among all people is stipulated in US law but was only hesitantly implemented in real life.
In Central Europe it is the traditional melodies from the Balkans and other regions of the world like Africa, Asia, South America, which European musicians and also the audience got interested in and with this, for the first time, the influence of the USA on European jazz was reduced.
But it usually takes several years until fusion of different music languages really happens. In Vienna, the city of music, the result of this process is rather satisfying and extremely interesting (there are a few successful bands in the meantime).

Matilda Leko must have gone through a similar process. She talks about her love for Brazilian music, which she studied besides her jazz studies. She started to merge all these music impressions in the end. This is her understanding of World Music she says…
In her new CD, Matilda Leko has certainly succeeded in producing World Music.

Author: Wolfgang Weltlaner - Wolfgang Weltlaner