This time Narodni Dom Maribor hosted three world known musicians and visual artists who have collaborated with so many different people in the past that the list wouldn’t fit one simple blog post. Zlatko Kaučič is a percussionist, improvisor, visual artist and composer who‘s 40th anniversary of musical composing and performing was celebrated with this concert. Zlatko Kaučič as well Javier Girotto and Alexander Bălănescu don't need any special introductions to even a casual music lover. With that in mind and the fact that David Braun (the man responsible for Jazz and World music programme at Narodni Dom Maribor) was absent, Mr. Kaučič himself made an introduction which he finished with a sentence that started to make sense at the end of the show. He said: "See you shortly". You are going to find out how it became relevant at the end of the post.
Now let's go to the performance of the trio. And it is no easy job, saying anything about the performance of such names. First of all, when a percussionist starts grabbing all sorts of non-standard accessories like spatulas, plastic bags, plastic cups, metal bowls, iron rods to name but a few, you know you are in for a treat. It was a rollercoaster of sounds for sure. Not much different were the other two thirds of the trio. Mr. Bălănescu despite his limping walk played his violin in such manner that one cannot deny the feeling that he was born to play one. And then it was Mr. Girotto. His soprano saxophone, the flute from the Andes and his plastic water battle sounded amazing. I've got a feeling that he could lure some great sounds out of whatever he got his hands on.
The level of improvisation these three artists showed was way beyond my reach and knowledge. At times it sounded almost like some kind of Noise Core music I have listened to when I was a teenager., but then again it just felt great and totally coordinated. I just hope the recording master is satisfied with the recording and that it will be released as a record in the future. And I hope one other thing, that the trio plays in Maribor before Kaučič's 80th anniversary.
Photography wise: as usually I've come to the venue a bit early so I got my favourite place. I've gotten myself all ready with my X-Pro2 and Fuji 35mm, 90mm, and 55-200mm lenses that haven't let me down at this venue yet. The disclaimer just before the trio came on the stage made me pack all the lenses back into my bag. However, I did manage to swap 35mm for 90mm and I shoot a few photos with manual focus and electronic shutter to be as unobtrusive as possible. So here are just a few quick incognito shots of the trio.
