Eastern Blok

EASTERN BLOK

The Los Angeles Times calls Eastern Blok’s music “relentlessly innovative work.”

Downbeat Magazine claims that “the ensemble playing is often breakneck and consistently challenging.”

Acoustic Guitar Magazine raves that Eastern Blok plays with “blazing virtuosity and sheer beauty.”

After performing over 300 shows a year and selling more than 3,000 records, the band EASTERN BLOK formerly known as The Goran Ivanovic Group has recorded a new album, changed their name, and has been successfully packing venues throughout the country since the release of their self-titled debut album in 2005.

The group features classical guitar virtuoso GORAN IVANOVIC, who teamed up with DOUG ROSENBERG on saxophone and flute, MATTHEW ULERY on bass, and MICHAEL CASKEY, a five-time Detroit Music Award and Downbeat Magazine Award winner, on drums.

EASTERN BLOK’s “extraordinary pan-cultural ensemble effortlessly blends classical and jazz music with the rich folkloric traditions of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Serbia. The resulting music is as alluring as it is complex. Exotic Middle Eastern motifs merge gracefully with the evocative sounds of Eastern European Klezmer music. Beautifully conceived folk passages are followed by perfectly executed Mahavishnu- inspired pyrotechnics. The passion and urgency at which this group plays is heard in every note on this remarkable musical offering” (Minor 7th Magazine).

From appearing on NPR to headlining the World Music Festival, EASTERN BLOK works without borders and it’s reflected in their dynamic music.

The band’s “Blacksmith’s Dance” was selected out of thousands of submissions to be one of three finalists in the 2005 John Lennon Songwriting Competition.

This past year brought them much acclaim due to their performance on Chicago Public Radio’s “Chicago Undercover.” EASTERN BLOK has even been selected to be featured in the upcoming major motion picture, “Wanted,” starring Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie.

EASTERN BLOK’s sophomore release, "Folk Tales" features compositions that juxtapose a somber and serious sound with a lively and elusive beat.

Listen to their mellifluous, intricate new compositions at www.easternblok.net and www.myspace.com/easternblok

Tags

Eastern Blok guitar, acoustic

Album Review

Folk Tales by Budd Kopman

Folk Tales Eastern Blok | Self Published (2007) By Budd Kopman

After the whirlwind experience of Goran Ivanovic Group (Balkan Song Records, 2006), the group, which has remained stable, changed its named to Eastern Blok. Incredible as it might seem, Folk Tales is tighter and more complex than the first album, while retaining the earlier energy and abandon.

While virtuoso guitarist Goran Ivanoic remains the nominal leader of the group and main composer, Doug Rosenberg (reeds), Matt Ulery (bass) and Michael Caskey (drums and percussion) are further integrated into the group sound. This sound is a mix of Balkan folk music and some Klezmer, with the jazz aesthetic of improvisation wrapped in an impossibly high-energy drive that also brings in very heavy bass lines.

Folk Tales Eastern Blok | Self Published (2007) By Budd Kopman

The pulse moves relentlessly forward, always given a kick by the odd meter, odd phrase length or out of phase repeated note groupings. The effect is mesmerizing, the bass and drums acting as one to viscerally push the listener this way and that.

Over this extremely physical, almost brutal yet dancing underpinning, Rosenberg plays either unison with Ivanovic or flies over it all, seemingly free yet always in touch. Ivanovic plays many roles, constantly changing between supporting the rhythm, adding harmonic complexity and soloing.

The music can also be beautiful. “Sorrow's Secret” lowers the energy a bit, with long lines played by guest cellist Michael Freilich. The track builds to a romantic climax as Caskey pushes ever forward, cresting and then ending with a classical guitar tremolo.

The arrangements on Folk Tales are perhaps the main advance in that the players' roles are continuously inverted and mixed, creating different textures and sounds. Eastern Blok is most definitely a band to catch live, because the energy pouring from the speakers would only intensify in a club.

Visit Eastern Blok on the web.

Track listing: Tango Pajdusko; Songs From The Black Sea; Balkan Healer; Sorrow's Secret; Kopanista; The Moon in the Labyrinth; Sapik; Wisdom of the Sands; Tricycle.

Personnel: Doug Rosenberg: tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute; Goran Ivanovic: guitars, bouzouki; Matt Ulery: acoustic bass, electric bass; harmonium; Michael Caskey: drums, percussion; Michael Freilich: cello (4). BUDD KOPMAN - ALL ABOUT JAZZ (FEB 25, 2008) Eastern Blok | Folk Tales (s/r) Written by Kevin Renick Wednesday, 12 December 2007

This incredibly talented ensemble conceive a fiery blend of Middle Eastern exoticism and the folk traditions of the Balkans.

Instrumental music of any obvious complexity is tough to review"you don't want to lose half the readership by getting overly technical about what various instruments are doing, but you also don't want to make a quick getaway by just saying stuff like "this song is upbeat," "this song sounds kinda sad," etc. Eastern Blok certainly deserves better than that. This incredibly talented ensemble, who previously went by the name The Goran Ivanovic Group, conceive a fiery blend of Middle Eastern exoticism and the folk traditions of the Balkans on their exciting new album Folk Tales.

Although Eastern Blok can be accurately characterized as a band that welds classical and jazz together (Ivanovic himself is a classical guitar virtuoso), there's a wildly inventive mix of atmospheres on this record that transcends categories. The opening "Tango Pajdusko" serves up dazzling arpeggios and a vaguely ominous mood, like someone pushing forward through the darkness with intense concentration, trying to get clear of some unnamed threat. It's gripping as hell. So is "Songs from the Black Sea," which features Ivanovic's stellar bouzouki playing in its mix of instruments. "Sorrow's Secret" is an apt title for an evocative track that offers one of the album's most fluid, inspired arrangements. The clarity of the sound here is awe-inspiring and special kudos should be given to Downbeat Magazine Award winner Michael Caskey's remarkable percussion.

Stuff like this usually gets filed under "World Music," where it's doomed to be part of the esoteric set that only collegiate musicians and reviewers are privy to. That's especially true of longer musical excursions like "Kopanitsa" (an engrossing number that practically flies a "World Music" banner above your head as it plays) and "Sapik." The mesmerizing "Wisdom of the Sands" takes you to a place far, far away and drops you there for awhile, with a harmonium adding deep ambience to the string instruments otherwise painting the tonal colors. This track in particular could easily be utilized in the soundtrack of some film set in the farthest reaches of eastern Europe.

Without a doubt, Eastern Blok play with a sense of complete urgency throughout this record. Yet the unparalleled discipline of these players is balanced by a fine sense of aesthetics and the value of showcasing each instrument's sonic flavoring in the context of genuinely compelling compositions. You don't need to be a musician or a hepcat to appreciate the dynamic nature of Eastern Blok's work. You just need to sit back and let the powerhouse playing take you on a wild, mysterious ride. KEVIN RENICK - PLAYBACK:STL (DEC 12, 2007)

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