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Wednesday, January 15, 2025

Representing the Free Jazz scene in North Macedonia (Part 2 of 2)

By Irena Stevanovska

Continued from part 1, here.

Macedonian Free Society – Macedonian Free Society (PMGJazz – 2024) 

Macedonian Free Society is a project that brings together many of the artists featured in the albums so far, along with other who have been part of the Mecedonia’s jazz scene for a long time. It’s a blend of young artists and jazz-veterans who have been playing since the early 2000’s. This new wave on young free jazz musicians opened up a big window for the older musicians as well, giving them freedom to express themselves in ways that weren’t as common when jazz wasn’t as widespread.

I chose this album because it’s a great example of free-form jazz. The collective allows every musician to express their individuality while coming together as an ensemble. It features a viriety of wind instruments: two saxophones (played by Ninoslav Spiroski and Vasko Bojadziski), a bass clarinet (Blagojce Tomevski), and trombone (Vladan Drobicki). These are complemented by string instruments including guitar (Filip Bukrshliev), bass (Deni Omeragic) and violin (Gligor Kondovski), with Dragan Teodosiev anchoring the rhythm on drums.

The result is a melting pot of ideas and styles, musicians following each-other in a fluid, avant-garde soundscape. This album is also tied with the city of Skopje, with titles, describing events in the city and moments that inspired the musicians to create this kind of music. The names of the album tracks lead me to believe that the album can be enjoyed during the everyday moments of life, especially if you’re a fan of upgrading your mundane daily obligations into a surreal exploration of your surroundings, with a great soundtrack playing in the background.



Roman Stoylar, Yordan Kostov, Nick DeCarlo, Dragan Teodosiev – Adventure of Doschnica’s eel (PMGJazz – 2024) 

This album is a little different than the rest that I’ve reviewed here. I typically chose more urban albums that are inspired by the streets of Skopje or the smaller towns in Macedonia. But this one, as the name implies, the Doshnica is a river in Macedonia hidden in a small part of the great mountains spread throughout the country. This one stands out with being one of the few albums featuring foreign musicians. On this album, there’s Nick DeCarlo from the US on tuba, Roman Stolyarov, a Russian composer and pianist, and of course Dragan Teodosiev and Yordan Kostov back on drums and accordion, accordingly.

I say this album feels different because it has this mystical vibe running through it. The bandcamp description captures it perfectly; just like the eel’s journey, the musicians magically came together one night in Skopje to play this. You can really hear it in the 40-minute track – parts where the instrument sounds like they’re chasing each other, pulling you into nature itself. The whole thing feels like a day out exploring. It starts with the energy of moving through concealed trails along the river, spotting plants, and feeling that rush of the unknown. Then, towards the end, it slows down, calming like the river as it flows into a different place.
The second, much shorter track feels like the walk back home after that long, spiritual day. It’s reflective, grounded, and just as meaningful in its simplicity.



Bukrshliev | Hadzi-Kocev | Spiroski – Transmarginal Beverly Hills (Live at JazZy) (Aksioma, 2024)

Transmarginal Beverly Hills is an album born from jam sessions at a bar in Skopje. It was played on a warm spring night, a place where random jam sessions often happened, sessions where musicians would unexpectedly find each other having the greatest time performing together. Some even formed bands (I know of at least one trio for sure), and great albums like this emerged from those nights. Two of the musicians on this album are already familiar from my previous reviews: Filip Bukrshliev returns on guitar and Ninoslav Spiroski is here again on alto saxophone and clarinet, joined by the pianist Konstantin Hadzi-Kocev.

This ambient album captures the calmness rarely found in the city, as a contrast to the chaos I’ve mentioned in my previous reviews. It begins with a drone-like ambient sound that sets a sorrowful tone, layered with mellow keys and a guitar that gently stretches over everything. The clarinet and saxophone drift in, carrying a weight of grief and serenity. The rawness of the recording only adds to the atmosphere, you can hear it wasn’t professionally recorded. Faint background noises slip here and there, grounding you in the exact place and moment where this happened, making it feel even more intimate.

I would place this album in the realm of 'Hauntology' – as described by Mark Fisher as “lost futures”. This album, together with its cover photo, evokes the feeling of a future that was supposed to happen but never did. That sentiment resonates deeply here, especially since this article focuses on a post-socialist country with a flourishing avant-garde jazz scene. Many of these musicians were born into a time when there was still hope that the country might become something livable, something more. That can be felt in many of these albums, and it’s present here too – the bittersweet inspiration drawn from a nation that shaped these artists. Allowing to pour their souls into every note they play.

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