Detailed Reviews [Dusan Jevtovic - 2017 - "No Answer"]

Prolusion. Serbian composer and guitarist Dusan JEVTOVIC have been an active entity in the European scene for some time by now, primarily following his relocation to Barcelona, Spain some ten years ago. He released his first solo album "On the Edge" back in 2009 through L'Indi Records. After this he signed to US label Moonjune Records, who have since released an additional small handful of albums from 2013 and onwards. "No Answer" dates back to 2017.

Analysis. Jazz and jazzrock are the primary genres of choice for the music released on Moonjune Records. Dusan Jevtovic' studio album from last year is another example of just that: Those familiar with the label and appreciating the artists and albums that comes with a Moonjune quality stamp will feel right at home with this production. Perhaps a bit unusual is the fact that the guitar isn't the sole dominating instrument here, despite Jevtovic being a guitarist. His instrument of choice is given a good and versatile airing of course, but the piano in particular also gets to dominate quite a bit throughout this album, with Rhodes and Moog chiming in at appropriate places. We're treated to a good variety of material too. All creations are instrumental, all of them more firmly placed inside a jazz context than a rock context. Only a token few can be described as jazzrock, at least as I listen to music. This is jazz, modern and electric, and one seeking out a few different boundaries. We have the elegant, floating and flowing creations, with dream-laden guitar textures and guitar details floating over a careful backdrop of piano and rhythms, but we also have the more expressive, adventurous affair with a more hectic pace, instruments approaching becoming abrasive due to tone, intensity or both. We get the impressive creations where guitar and instrument play off on one another, almost like a call and answer routine at times, but also more experimental affairs with twisted, distorted guitar or piano sounds, the Rhodes probably a provider of the latter, and guitar reverbs have their spot in the limelight too. Perhaps a bit atypical to the genre, we do get a few creations that explore moods and atmospheres of a darker and more brooding nature as a part of this total experience as well. Perhaps the appropriate word though, as my familiarity with jazz as a genre leaves me a bit short on information as to just how common or not this actually is.

Conclusion. I do not know what the album title "No Answer" refers to, but on this album we are presented with quite a few answers, some of them really compelling as well, on how a modern, electric jazz trio starring a guitarist and a keyboardist may sound like. If modern instrumental jazz with a slight orientation towards jazzrock is your thing, and you tend to enjoy playful instrumentalists in general and guitarists and keyboardists in particular as the leading musicians in such a context, this may well be an album you will enjoy.

Progmessor: March 29th 2018
The Rating Room