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Srdjan Ivanovic Blazin' Quartet Sleeping Beauty Review by Gary Hill With a healthy helping of experimental jazz built into it, this is an intriguing set. It lands sort of along the lines of fusion, but not always in that zone. There is quite a bit of range here within that concept. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2021 Volume 3. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2021.

Track by Track Review

Intro The sounds of nature lead us out here. Sedate jazzy melodies rise up to join.

Sleeping Beauty While this is a sedate number (particularly early), it is also crazed, with some intriguing instrumental journeys at its heart. It works upward toward more traditional jazz later in the tune.

The Man with the Harmonica There is some almost classical guitar in the arrangement on this number. The tune has a real timeless quality to it. Yet, it's also experimental and fresh. This is one of the highlights of the disc, packed with drama and style. It's also full of cool jazz instrumental work.

Guchi A melodic number, this is so tasty and elegant. It's more pure fusion. There are some fairly soaring and exploratory movements. There are some non-lyrical vocals on this piece.

Andreas Horn melodies make up a big part of the concept here. The song is fairly mellow, but also very dramatic and powerful. at less than two-and-a-half minutes long, it's also one of the shorter pieces here.

Rue des balkans With a driving experimental jazz intensity behind it, this is an intriguing track. It has more non-lyrical vocals. This works out later into some of the most intense jamming of the whole disc. The guitar is positively on fire, but then again, so is just about all of the work.

Sleeping Beauty (Solo Guitar) The title and parenthetical reveal what this number is. The guitar lines have some intriguing angles and concepts.

A l'aube du cinquième jour (Gott mit uns) I love the melodic jazz stylings on this tune. It's another piece of class.

Outro As a nice bookend, this is a reprise of the opening music, and it drops back to just nature to end.

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