Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
The music of the “Vladimir Karparov Quartet” is both unique and expressive; it’s marked by an uncommonly successful fusion between contemporary jazz and the rhythmical and melodic color of Bulgaria’s lively folk music. As the head of his own quartet, the saxophonist Karparov skillfully combines the best of both worlds in his compositions; their harmonies are based on the refined tradition of American-style modern jazz, while their evocative melodies reveal a playful ornamental nature typical for Bulgarian folk music. Karparov exclusively plays his own compositions; he has proven himself to be a versatile and multi-faceted musician and talented composer who nimbly leaps over the boundaries between genres, incorporating tango as well as Turkish arabesque and gypsy elements into his rich sound cosmos. In the process, Karparov has long since defined his artistic voice and style and can be regarded as an original talent in a new generation of Bulgarian music. When the young Bulgarian picks up his saxophone and spurs his fellow musicians on with rapid lines, uneven meters, polyrhythmic structures, and dynamic changes, the audience has no other choice but to go along with him and become transported by the emotion and power of a sound that now and again taps into a melancholic vein. /Carina Prange/ - Carina Prange
Die Musik des bulgarischen Saxophonisten Vladimir Karparov ist eine bunte Mischung von Rhythmen und Gefühlen. Die Stimmung der bulgarischen Weinfeste, die strahlende Sonne und die fröhlichen Menschen, all das ist im Stück „Vine Leaves“ wiederzufinden. Elegante und aufgewühlte Jazzimprovistionen vereint mit Anlehnungen an alte bulgarische Lieder haben einen hohen Anspruch und sind angenehm zu hören. Stets wissen die vier Musiker des Karparov Jazzquartetts dem Ganzen den einen oder anderen charmanten Gedanken hinzuzufügen, was die Musik noch kurzweiliger macht.
Die Bandmitglieder spielen seit 2005 zusammen und kommen aus drei verschiedenen Ländern. Deshalb auch ist die Rhythmenmischung so vielfältig. Mal mehr und mal weniger übertönen die Elemente aus rührenden Balladen oder temperamentvollen Reigentänzen den Jazzhintergrund. Manchmal auch werden sie in einziges musikalisches Thema eingebettet.
Es macht Spaß, immer neue Details zu entdecken. Der Kjutscheck zum Beispiel ist ein beliebtes Motiv des Bulgaren. Seine Rhythmen sind wie die des Tangos oder der Rumba. Die Elemente der Zigeunermusik
bringt Karparov mit seinem Sopransaxophon zum Ausdruck. Schon die nächste Melodie und der nächste Einfall sorgen für einen Stimmungswechsel.
- Berliner Woche
Ausnahmesaxophonist Vladimir Karparov ließ aufhorchen mit rasanten, balkanisierenden Läufen und völlig neuen, verrückten Tönen. - Mannheimer Morgen, 23.02.07
Vladimir Karparov has an incredibly fascinating and expressive way of playing the saxophone. He has a command of all his instruments’ registers and captivated listeners’ attention as he switched back and forth between the tenor and soprano sax.
- Marion Bässler, Sonthofen
…and Vladimir Karparov, who comes from the Bulgarian capital Sofia, for his breathtaking soli, which infused each tune with an acrobatic lightness.
- Saarbrücker Zeitung, 9/20/2004
The BulgarianVladimir Karparov plays the saxophone with elaborate Balkan lines and a deep knowledge of American jazz.
- Berliner Morgenpost 1/5/2004
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The music of the “Vladimir Karparov Quartet” is both unique and expressive; it’s marked by an uncommonly successful fusion between contemporary jazz and the rhythmical and melodic color of Bulgaria’s lively folk music. As the head of his own quartet, the saxophonist Karparov skillfully combines the best of both worlds in his compositions; their harmonies are based on the refined tradition of American-style modern jazz, while their evocative melodies reveal a playful ornamental nature typical for Bulgarian folk music. Karparov exclusively plays his own compositions; he has proven himself to be a versatile and multi-faceted musician and talented composer who nimbly leaps over the boundaries between genres, incorporating tango as well as Turkish arabesque and gypsy elements into his rich sound cosmos. In the process, Karparov has long since defined his artistic voice and style and can be regarded as an original talent in a new generation of Bulgarian music. When the young Bulgarian picks up his saxophone and spurs his fellow musicians on with rapid lines, uneven meters, polyrhythmic structures, and dynamic changes, the audience has no other choice but to go along with him and become transported by the emotion and power of a sound that now and again taps into a melancholic vein. /Carina Prange/
Vladimir Karparov was born in 1977 and grew up in Bulgaria’s capital, Sofia; he discovered music at an early age and already began playing the saxophone as a child. He studied at the “The National Academy of Music” in Sofia from 1995 to 1999, with jazz and popular music as his main areas of concentration. He quickly realized that his fascination gravitated more towards jazz; to deepen his knowledge in this area, he applied for a scholarship to Hamburg’s Hochschule für Musik und Theater (HfMT), with success. Yet the longer Vladimir Karparov lived away from his home country, the more intensively he began investigating Bulgarian folk music, which gradually became an essential and irrevocable component of his music.
Berlin’s richly fertile, multi-cultural jazz scene exerted a magical attraction on the young saxophonist. Karparov moved to the German capital in 2002 to continue his studies at Berlin’s Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” and graduated in 2005 with a degree in saxophone and teaching. His participation in various festival events as well as numerous concerts and awards in Europe, India, and Japan, together with his collaboration with names both on the American jazz scene and in Western and Eastern Europe, complete the picture of this versatile musician: Vladimir Karparov has played and/or toured with Theodossi Spassov, Jiggs Whigham, Gerard Presencer, Adam Pieronczyk, Kenny Wheeler, Okay Temiz, John Hollenbeck, and many more to realize a wide spectrum of musical visions. After playing on a number of various projects, Karparov is currently preparing to release his first quartet album.
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