JazzSence

If we are to believe the “chroniclers”, JSQ, under this name and with these mem¬bers, made its first performance on December 26th 1998 in Belgrade. It was a chaotic time in which jazz musicians spontaneously took the torch of rebellion and stood in the first lines of urban resistance to the darkness which threatened to swal¬low us all. “Years of Denouement“ were marked by a great number of bands and clubs in which good jazz was defiantly played in spite of everything. However, even the most optimistic connoisseurs of domestic jazz could not have foreseen that JSQ would manage to persevere for an entire decade and survive all the tempta¬tions of our “incestuous“ and sealed-by-sanctions jazz scene in which a dearth of experienced musicians played in different combinations – from one gig to the next, from one day to the next... Five musicians from the RTS Big Band, already tired of innumerable bands and one-time projects, were united by the need to change such a dangerous pattern. The newly-formed quintet, gathered round a carefully selected repertoire, chose, for the beginning, a name that clearly suggested their unshakeable commitment to jazz music and everything that they recognized as its essence. “Jazzsenses“, per¬haps subconsciously, found their oasis of mental health sincerely rejoicing in every gig they had together, in every chance to pour over megabytes of positive energy in an unpredictable creative interaction. Legendary gigs, during the bombing, in “Jazz Café“ in Obilicev venac St. before the ominous evening siren were not just collectively cathartic for the audience and the musicians, but also an announce¬ment of the arrival of in many aspects, a very special band with huge potential. The apparent chemistry connecting these five outstanding musicians of different ages, characters and sensibilities helped this band to survive and outgrow the boundaries of the domestic jazz scene. Playing exclusively live gigs at clubs and festivals, the members of the quintet, Vlada, Ljuba, Ivan, Pera and Branko, although already es¬tablished musicians, experienced, each one individually, a particular transformation concerning ideas and their performance, which proves that a jazz musician never stops developing. The contagious euphoria and passion with which the “Senses“ creatively provoke each other is their deadliest weapon. It is no wonder, therefore, that JSQ for years now has been filling the Belgrade club “Ptica“ (“Bird“) to capacity every Friday, while their gigs spontaneously end in a great party atmosphere. Quite an unusual sight for this time and under this sky! During the last decade, the members of the quintet have managed to find their own recognizable sound, respecting and blending their differences into an, indisputably, authentic quality. Although they did not rush with their first original album, this, ac¬cording to the words of Ivan Aleksijevic, “needlessly high-quality“ material in the best way represents the serious heights to which “Jazzsenses“ have lifted up domestic jazz.