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www.tamaraobrovac.com • [email protected] • + 385 98 219 179 “my approach towards music went from jazz standards, through my own compositions, to my finding of an original expression by connecting the language of the folk music of my homeland (Istria, Croatia) with the rhythms and improvisation typical for jazz, so jazz is my freedom and my roots are my inner truth” about author news concerts multimedia discography film & theatre music projects bands photo press • about & info Tamara Obrovac, "the Sorceress from Istria": Tamara Obrovac is one of those musicians to whom jazz is a path to understanding music as a whole. Furthermore, it has led her to an intensive investigation of her own regional music awareness, so she offers us a new musical journey through the Istrian and Mediterranean spaces and times. Her homeland Istria, a beautiful Croatian region and a North Adriatic peninsula, is particular for its musical and dialectal tradition which is the creative force of Tamara's works. Her utterly original and autochthonous music goes beyond time and geographical boundaries, thus becoming a universal artistic message which establishes Tamara Obrovac as an exceptional artist who has created her own unique musical expression. Tamara's unique music, played by the excellent musicians from her international Transhistria ensemble is a genuine musical mohair which skillfully and naturally incorporates the elements of jazz, Istrian and Mediterranean folk music, and many elements of modern music, while Tamara's voice is equally impressive when she sings lyrics and when she performs vocalizes, thus turning itself into an additional instrument. In addition to her international concert activities she composes music for theater and film and she has received many awards for her work. International recognition came also through the nomination for the BBC Radio 3 World Music awards (European music and Audience Award) Discography: Tamara’s bands: Tamara Obrovac Transhistria Ensemble Transhistria ensemble & Epoque string quartet (latest cd “ Madirosa”) Tamara Obrovac quartet Transhistria Electric (cd “I won’t sing jazz any more”) Tamara Obrovac & Karen Asatrian IstrArmenia ensemble Author CDs: Triade, 1996; Ulika, 1998; Transhistria, 2001; Sve pasiva/Everything fades away, 2003; Daleko je/Is faraway, 2005; Neću više jazz kantati/I won’t sing jazz any more, 2009, featuring her new band “Transhistria electric with a fresh fusion of Istrian ethno and funky and soul music; and the latest Madirosa, 2011, in collaboration with the Czech Epoque string quartet. Through her albums, Tamara profiles her own auctorial approach and creates a unique artistic form which, inspired by the Istrian and broader Mediterranean tradition, establishes “the personal poetics of the author”. In 2006 she also released the CD entitled Črni kos / Das lied der amsel (Extraplatte, Vienna) with renditions of the Croatian national songs from Gradišće, Austria. Tamara Obrovac’s song “Tuca’ La Louna” is on the compilation Putumayo ““Women of the world” Acoustic” 2008. In 2007, she launched PANPHONIA ISTRIANA, a years-long project of revitalization of dialectal and musical heritage of Istria, in which the obsoleteness of the dialectal and cultural tradition is connected with the modern multimedia expression. Since 2010, she is the director of Valamar Jazz festival Poreč, Croatia TAMARA OBROVAC transhistria ensemble / www.tamaraobrovac.com / [email protected] 1 www.tamaraobrovac.com • [email protected] • + 385 98 219 179 photo by T. Genc, 2011. photo by A. Orel, 2007. photo by T. Genc, 2010. credits • festivals Adriatico Mediterraneo festival, Ancona, 2012, Italy Lüneburger Jazz-Night, Lüneburg, 2012, Germany TRT TÜRK TV show ("With The Language Of Music"), 2012, Istanbul, Turkey La Fira Mediterrania de Manresa, 2011, Spain International Valamar Jazz Festival Poreč, 2011, Croatia White Field Jazz Festival, Bijelo Polje, 2011, Montenegro Aula de Cultura de la CAM, Alicante, 2010, Spain Festival Ribermusica, Convent de Sant Agusti, Barcelona, 2010, Spain European Summer of Culture, Fellbach, 2010, Germany Sängerkrieg Festival, Eisenach Jazzclub, 2009, Germany Coesfeld Castle, 2009, Germany Balkan Traffik Fest (feat. Transbalkanika ), Bruxelles, 2009, Belgium Alpsklang Festival, Merano, 2008, Italia MESS Festival, Sarajevo, 2008, Bosnia & Herzegovina Nebo Festival, transhistria electric, Zagreb, 2008, Croatia Karlsplatz, Artistic Zone, Vienna, 2008, Austria Maritime Fest, Brest, 2008, France HKD Jazz Time Int. Festival, transhistria/epoque, Rijeka, 2008, Croatia Jazarella International All Women Festival, Zagreb, 2008, Croatia Dimithriathess Festival, Thessaloníki, 2007, Greece Špancirfest , Varaždin, 2007, Croatia Baladoor Jazz Festival, Koper, 2007, Slovenia Etnofest, Palić, Subotica 2007, Serbia Sängerkrieg Festival, Coesfeld Castle, 2006, Germany EBU Festival, Kaustinen, 2006, Finland Le Gipfel du Jazz Festival, Freiburg, 2005, Germany Nei suoni dei luoghi, Festival, Monfalcone, 2005, Italy Crossroads Festival, Krakow, 2005, Poland Saulkrasti Jazz, Saulkrasti, 2005, Latvia World Music Festival,Vienner Neustadt, 2005, Austria World EXPO 2005, Japan Glatt und Verkehrt Musikfestival , 2004, Austria Interzone Music Festival, Novi Sad, 2004, Serbia Talos Jazz Festival, Ruvo di Puglia, 2003, Italy Anteprimamundus Fest, Reggio Emilia, 2003, Italy Musikfest Waidhofen/Thaya, 2003, Austria Dionysia Festival, Rome, 2003, Italy European Jazz Joint Ventures, Graz, 2003, Austria Akkordeon Festival,Vienna, 2003, Austria Strictly Mundial Festival, Marseille, 2003, France Sarajevo Jazzfest 2002, Bosnia and Herzegovina Etno Jazz Festival, Kumanovo, 2002, Macedonia The Sounds of Neighbourhood Festival,Vienna, 2001, Austria Balkan Square Festival, Thessaloniki, 2001, Greece Festival della Valle dei Nuraghi, Sardegna, 2001, Italy Festival Sconfinando, Sarzana, 2001, Italy Druga godba, international festival, Ljubljana, 2001, Slovenia Music Bienalle, Zagreb, 2001, Croatia th 10 International Jazz Days, Zagreb 2000, Croatia TAMARA OBROVAC transhistria ensemble / www.tamaraobrovac.com / [email protected] 2 www.tamaraobrovac.com • [email protected] • credits “my approach towards music went from jazz standards, through my own compositions, to my finding of an original expression by connecting the language of the folk music of my homeland (Istria, Croatia) with the rhythms and improvisation typical for jazz, so jazz is my freedom and my roots are my inner truth” biography news concerts multimedia discography film & theatre music projects bands photo press Tamara’s bands: Tamara Obrovac Transhistria Ensemble Transhistria ensemble & Epoque string quartet (latest cd “ Madirosa”) Tamara Obrovac quartet Transhistria Electric (cd “I won’t sing jazz any more”) Tamara Obrovac & Karen Asatrian IstrArmenia ensemble • clubs & venues Kulturforum Amthof, Feldkirchen, 2012, Austria Jazz club Circulo, Madrid, 2011, Spain Jazz Club Klagenfurt, 2011, Austria EXTRA 3 feat. Tamara Obrovac, Jazz Point Linz, 2010, Austria Divača, , Jazz hram, transhistria ensemble, 2010, Slovenia Zagreb, club Aquarius, transhistria electric, 2009, Croatia Ljubljana, elektrana acoustic quartet, 2009, Slovenia EXTRA3 feat. Tamara Obrovac, Klagenfurt, museum, 2008, Austria Kostanjevica na Krki, transhistria/epoque, 2008, Slovenia Karlsplatz, Artistic Zone, transhistria, 2008, Vienna, Austria Casa della musica, transhistria ensemble, Trieste, 2008, Italia Lisinski Concert Hall, transhistria /epoque, Zagreb, 2008, Croatia Novi Sad, Zrenjanin, Subotica, theatres, and venues, 2008, Serbia Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, transhistria electric, 2008, Slovenia Ethnoinsula ciklus, Manzioli Pallace, Izola, 2008, Slovenia Feldkirchen 2007, Kulturforum Amthof, Austria Motovun filmfest, transhistria electric, 2007, Croatia Čakovec, 20.07, Stari grad, 2007, Croatia Vukovar, Danube River, Hubert von Goisern Makes the Rivers of Europe Sound, 2007, Croatia Arsenal Club, Zadar, 2007, Croatia Istrian National Theater, Pula, 2007, Croatia MOCVARA Club, Zagreb, 2006, Croatia Eisenach Jazzclub, 2006, Germany Coesfeld Castle, 2006, Germany Stuttgart Laboratorium, 2006, Germany Hot House, Chicago, 2006, USA JOE’S PUB, New York, 2006, USA Porgy & Bess, Vienna, 2000/2004 Austria Joe Zawinul’s Birdland,Vienna, 2004, Austria Art Radionica Lazareti, Dubrovnik, Croatia Crossroads Festival, Krakow, 2005, Poland Liize Jazz Club, Riga, Latvia - 2005 Vienner Neustadt, 2005, Austria EXPO, Aichi, 2005, Japan Molto vivace concert series, A38 Club, Budapest, 2005, Hungary North Westphalia concert tour, 2003, Germany (Bonn, Hagen, Köln, Wuppertal, Dortmund, Bremen, Aachen, Kempen, Hamm, Siegen) Bologna, Piazza Santo Stefano, 2003, Italy Concerti scaligeri,Verona, 2003, Italy Tafelhalle, Nuernberg, 2003, Germany Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, 2003, Slovenia Half Note Club, Athens, 2001, Greece Terre ritmi suoni, concert season, Palazzolo sullí Oglio, 2001, Italy Balkan Horses International Project, Sofia, Bulgaria EXPO, Hannover, 2000, Germany TAMARA OBROVAC transhistria ensemble / www.tamaraobrovac.com / [email protected] 3 www.tamaraobrovac.com • [email protected] • press • from concert reviews ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Tamara Obrovac quartet: The unique synergy of music and emotion/ Freedom and improvisation Yesterday, the Lisinski Hall enjoyed jazz to the full. It was a love at first sight. The rarely seen synergy of musical virtuosos and relaxed Tamara was completed by the whole-hearted energy they got in return from the grateful audience.As often at Tamara’s concerts, “Crno zlo” (“Black Evil”) threw the audience into ecstasies. … What gives an additional quality to this song is Tamara’s very own approach to jazz: through “Crno zlo”, her fascinating ability of improvisation manifests itself in all its beauty , enrapturing the audience,making it laugh and thrilling it completely. Z. Jagodić. index.hr , Thursday, February 16, 2012, Croatia ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Tamara Obrovac at Lisinski Hall Undoubtedly the greatest personality among Croatian female jazz vocalists, charismatic Tamara Obrovac, gave us an extremely successful concert, not only because of the packed house and the applause which lasted forever… (her eyes filled up and she said “this is one of the things in life worth living for”), but also because of her interpretation and spontaneity, her honesty and utter exposing in front of the audience to which she gave herself to the full, through the music which should no longer be put into any slot – it is world jazz, period! Several encores, happy audience, happy Tamara… the concert worth of every praise. Such amount of inspiration, improvisation, “conversation” and interaction between the artists on the stage is rarely seen. “Ulika Revival” relives to the full and is right on target. A win-win situation for all parties. Dinko Husadžić Sansky , jazz.hr February 16, 2012, Croatia ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ • Tamara Obrovac Enchanted the Audience at Valamar Jazz Festival 2011. With her Transhistria ensemble and the string virtuosos of Epoque Quartet, Tamara Obrovac has once again given an unforgettable concert interwoven with jazz, classical music and a pronounced Mediterranean spirit… the live performance offered a great dialogue of the Czech string players and Transhistria ensemble musicians and enchanted the audience in the Euphrasian Basilica, the same way that the album Madirosa enchants its listeners. Tibor Toromanović, Glas Istre, daily paper, July 08. 2011, Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • The second part of the evening was marked by the unbelievable easiness with which Tamara Obrovac adapted her voice and changed its timbre Review of Transhistria ensemble concert at Felbach, Germany, July 31, 2010 The second part of the evening was marked by the unbelievable ability of Tamara Obrovac to adapt her voice and change its timbre with amazing easiness. Screaming and cooing, tremolo and panting, whispering and squeaking – the voice of Tamara Obrovac always sounds clear; even the short sound check between the two tunes seems like a recitative; in the long improvisations of her fellow musicians, she embarks into a dialogue with their instruments, following their timbre. The old folk songs and dances, the lyrics written in the obsolete Roman dialects – the buried treasures from Tamara's homeland Istria are joined with the pure jazz rhythm. The band consists of masterfully chosen group of young virtuosos, who bow with the full respect to their female leader, but also help each other in mutual cooperation. A beautiful, intense evening, the evening that remained intense even in its quiet moments, which was recognized by the audience and rewarded accordingly with a thundering applause. Felbacher zeitung, August 8, 2010, Germany -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Tamara Amadeus, Rambo Obrovac Bogaloo club Zagreb / Concert review (Transhistria Electric) Tamara Obrovac has again proved she is a real master in eclectic fusion of musical genres. With her fascinating voice and singing skills, she easily goes from jazz and funk to ethno, canzone and rock, with a series of witty announcements and multicultural patterns in which she, being Istrian, gets incredibly along … Aleksandar Dragaš, Jutarnji list daily paper, October 2009, Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TAMARA OBROVAC transhistria ensemble / www.tamaraobrovac.com / [email protected] 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Tamara Obrovac’s Volcanic Energy … at the opening of All Women Jazz Festival in ZeKaeM Theatre, temperamental Tamara has shown that she can easily compete with the greatest names of today’s music. With Transhistria ensemble which never loses its inspiration and the desire for improvisation, Tamara sounded fresh and extremely challenging again… It was as if she were deconstructing each composition and word in a more radical (and musical) way, thus turning the inaugurating concert of an established, élite jazz festival into a Biennale-like laboratory of the new sound and stage performance which was at times deeply moving. With Tamara Obrovac, all genre slots have long been rejected. What remains is the exciting voice which stretches with the volcanic energy across the whole musical universe. Denis Derk, Večernji list, daily paper, Zagreb, April 14, 2008, Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Powerful Tamara Obrovac and Dianne Reeves concert review Transhistria ensemble (Jazarella International All Women Jazz Festival Zagreb, Croatia Tamara Obrovac is the first Croatian artist presented at this festival. She and her Transhistria Ensemble who performed at the opening of the festival have proved their skills are on an equal footing with those of the world stars. As a singer, Tamara Obrovac has presented large vocal capabilities and a powerful voice, which sometimes assumes the role of additional musical instruments, knowingly using a sense of improvisation; as a composer, she has definitely developed her own genuine musical language. Davor Hrvoj, Novi list, April 2008, Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Pastoral life and freedom A concert of Enver Izmailov and Tamara Obrovac / Freiburger Jazz –Gipfel Tamara Obrovac was a true discovery and undoubtedly the peak of the whole festival. This Istrian singer surprised the audience with her independence and unpretentious presentation on the stage. Constant returns to the freedom of jazz enable her to live out her fascinating individuality. She uses her voice boundlessly, going from the low alto to the high soprano, adding the unique vibrations by tapping on her neck with her palm. At the stroke of midnight, a thunderous applause of thrilled audience resounded through the music hall in Freiburg. Reiner Kobe, Badische Zeitung, September 12, 2005, Germany -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Saulkrasti jazz - festival 2005 The audience of the Saulkrasti jazz festival was mostly impressed by the Croatian so-called “ethno-jazz“ band Tamara Obrovac & Transhistria Ensemble, whose performance was marked by confidence, energy and a completely different music mentality that the one to which the domestic audience is accustomed. Ikars Kublins, Apollo, August 2005, Latvia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Second evening of the International festival of modern music, INTERZONE 2004, marked by Tamara Obrovac & Transhistria Ensemble As it could have been expected, the epithet of the main attraction of the evening, and perhaps of the whole festival as well, pertained to Tamara Obrovac & Transhistria Ensemble.The basis of their music is Istrian national heritage, interpreted in the manner of jazz, classical music, even tango, but in an peculiar manner which could hardly be defined in terms of the established genre qualifications. Dynamic and melodious. Loud as much as gentle, warm and sophisticated. Not pathetic whatsoever. Occasionally ferocious, but not aggressive. Workmanship of the band members, their attractive solos and above all the endless vocal abilities of Tamara Obrovac herself, her charm and unrestrained, honest, witty and seductive performance will remain etched on the memory for a long time. D. Domanovic, Gradjanski, Novi Sad, May 25, 2004, Serbia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TAMARA OBROVAC transhistria ensemble / www.tamaraobrovac.com / [email protected] 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Obrovac unites tradition and modernism, Performance in Schwarzer Hase, Beutelsau What is hidden behind the term “Mediterranean-Balkan Ethno jazz” is the fresh, unexhausted and authentic music of Tamara Obrovac. It is influenced by local tradition and folk music, but the oriental sounds and a bit of rap music can be heard as well, with a great dose of modern Jazz harmony that interconnects it all. Conventional roles of instruments are abandoned and that contributes to the weightless and circular music style, but all 5 musicians are still connected in a strange and inexplicable way. With her markedly nuanced and strictly controlled voice, Tamara Obrovac (Croatia) overpowers even the hardest sound of rap, as well as oriental melizmatic melodies or simple full-tone parts of the songs from her homeland. The music of Tamara Obrovac is fresh and unexhausted exactly because it connects the old traditions with modern elements … Schwabische Zeitung, October 2006., Germany -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Obrovac - DOBROJAZZ! She tornadoes through the stage leaving in her wake an ever increasing number of fans. Birgit Gabler, Concerto magazine, June 2003, Austria -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Touching the moon without dancing with the wolves Was that jazz or folk? In any case, it was experience. Tamara Obrovac and her Transhistria Ensemble were guests in Martinikirche in Siegen. Ecstatic, brave, melancholic, all together – strong experience. “This evening, no one had to dance with the wolves”. Amazing tones were healing the ears of domestic audience. We heard modern Croatian music, cheerful, enriched with jazz and traditional sound. She enchants Siegen audience as well, with her humor, expressive music, presence and a joy of her music. To touch the moon with Tamara’s music is very easy indeed. Siegener Zeitung, December 2003, Germany -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gorizzia jazz festival, Tamara Obrovac quartet Histrionic and direct in her relationship with the public, a perfect master of the scene, Tamara Obrovac has proven that she has found and achieved a very original stylistic objective in which a deep knowledge of jazz perfectly blends with the rediscovered cultural heritage of Istria. G. Almerigogna, Gorizia, Il Piccolo, March 1999 Italy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TAMARA OBROVAC transhistria ensemble / www.tamaraobrovac.com / [email protected] 6 www.tamaraobrovac.com • [email protected] • press • from cd reviews ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ • “Musical Document from Eternity of Universe” CD Madirosa, Aquarius records 2011 Although the music on Tamara’s seventh album will thrill you right from the very first hearing, its true value, like the value of the most valuable achievements of the world art, will be disclosed only when you hear it again and again, and you will simply keep listening to it time after time because every new listening will reveal some new filigree details, new sounds, new discreet interactions, new emotions, new refinement, new charm... In the interpretations included in this album, Tamara artlessly and logically unites a serious approach and joke, tradition and modernity, classical music and ethno, formal demands and freedom, melody and improvisation, regional and middle-European. Davor Hrvoj, June 2011, Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • “Challenges never end” CD Madirosa, Aquarius records 2011, Croatia With Tamara Obrovac, one is never bored. After all musical surprises and changes, this tireless artist with fascinating creative tempo and even more fascinating creative collaborations and results has now offered us an album decisively marked by the sound and atmosphere of a string quartet. Classical music has thus officially entered into the world of Tamara's music in this undoubtedly most complex and most ambitious album, entitled Madirosa, from which an attentive listener will get a myriad of different amazing details. Mix Epoque String Quartet's excellent sense of dramatic with Transhistria Ensemble's subtle improvisations, add the singer with striking emotiveness and even more amazing expressiveness, and you get Madirosa: the album which demands a lot, but gives even more, and most of all shows that the creativity of Tamara Obrovac and her five-man squad has no limits. Pavle Vukšić muzika.hr June 2011. Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Healing, intimate sailing of Tamara Obrovac through the Mediterranean and its historical multiculturality CD Madirosa, Aquarius records 2011 On her eighth album entitled Madirosa, Tamara and her multiethnic Transhistria Ensemble supported by the Czech string quartet Epoque give shape to the primeval spirit of the Mediterranean as the cradle of European culture. In Tamara's Mediterranean spirit, culture and world, there is space not only for blending of jazz and Istrian ethno to which we are accustomed in her distinctive artistic style, but also for numerous other influences, from those Italian and Portuguese to those Spanish and Arabic, and for a series of musical epochs, from renaissance and baroque to post-modern crossovers of jazz and classical music and that which we clumsily refer to as world music. Madirosa is seemingly a simple and unassuming, but actually a multi-layered, virtuoso album recorded in only two days in studio, compared to which the music of even Gotan Project and Madredeus sounds shallow and onedimensional. Aleksandar Dragaš, Jutarnji list, daily paper, June 2011. Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • The most intriguing album of Istrian musician “Neću više jazz kantat”/ “I won’t sing jazz any more” Several remarkable new songs, the title song which is bound to be a hit, the imaginative remake of the Istrian folk song ”Predi šći moja” and the extended eight-minute-long version of the old favourite ”Črno zlo” have acquired the real funky groove into which the experienced jazz virtuosos such as the drummer Kruno Levačić, the Slovenian guitar-player Uroš Rakovec or the American piano player Joe Kaplowitz have fitted remarkably well. “I won’t sing jazz any more” is the most intriguing and the most complex album by Tamara Obrovac and if it reaches the international stage, the final result could be much more impressive than the nomination for the BBC World Music Award. Ilko Čulić, Jutarnji list, daily paper, April 2009. Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Lady kanta funk (Lady Sings Funk), the CD of the year! “Neću više jazz kantat”/ “I won’t sing jazz any more” is what it is – by far the best album in the whole music career of Tamara Obrovac – primarily because of the great material in which it is difficult to say what is better: the new compositions of the Istrian diva or the superb, fully thought out versions of her older works. Transhistria Electric and the Iron Istrian Lady have made the album of the year, probably of the five years, after which the band leader may not sing jazz any longer – but don’t worry: you should hear how she sings funk! Pavle Vukšić, Muzika hr. Internet portal, April 2009. Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TAMARA OBROVAC transhistria ensemble / www.tamaraobrovac.com / [email protected] 7 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- •Tamara Obrovac transhistria ensemble – «CD «Daleko je../Is Faraway…« In 70 minutes of her new album, Tamara has shown she is completely ready to compete with the world stars. … With her new material, she successfully got out of the narrow frame of the local tradition. By using some Italian ethno-elements, she has entered into a much broader concept of neo-traditional Mediterranean music properly placed in many world music catalogues…“ Ilko Čulić, Jutarnji list - daily paper, January 2006., Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- •Tamara Obrovac transhistria ensemble – «CD «Daleko je../Is Faraway…« Everybody who has ever heard any Tamara's concert or is familiar with the general places in her song-book is well acquainted with the exceptional «performances» of her fellow musicians: the exceptional guitar player Uroš Rakovac, the extraordinary bass player Žiga Golob, the genius on drums Kruno Levačić and the extraterrestrial accordion player Fausto Beccalossi. Together with Tamara’s amazing voice, but also with her instrumental tripping on flute, Transhistria ensemble, which has tested itself at numerous live performances could finally make a huge breakthrough onto the European music scene. Zlatko Gall, Slobodna Dalmacija - daily paper, January 2006, Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- •BBC World Music Awards 2004 nominees compilation review “Fortunately, the random nature of awards compilation like this provides the opportunity to browse and skip and fall headlong for something you’ve never heard before. In my case, the “blind date” artist is Tamara Obrovac. Cansoneita (A Small Song) performed by Obrovac with the Transhistria Ensemble, is a floating, beguiling track, with spacious drumming, tuneful accordion and a delicious lead vocal by Obrovac.” John L. Walters, The Guardian, February 2004, GB -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The best of all possible worlds? Independent, December 2003, GB Supported Voices? Well, try taking away the studio effects from Rokia Traore or the Uzbek superstar Sevara Nazarkhan, and see what you're left with. Unlike Evora or Ferrer, these young singers need the help of technology to weave their spells, and though there's nothing wrong with technology per se, this does sort out minor talents from the major ones. Croatia's Tamara Obrovac tops my bill in this group - a fine artist, with a clever band. Michael Church, Independent, December, 2003, GB -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A gem of Croatian musical production Tamara Obrovac transhistria ensemble, CD “All fades away” Signing it personally, in an original, direct, spontaneous and amusing way, affirming the tradition, the language, the sound and the characteristic and unique richness of the today almost archaic Istrian music, the brilliant singersongwriter has created her personal and original version of the ethnic trend still so important in the world today. … she has embodied the melody, the sonority, the unique scale and the autochthonous rhythm into a universal, agreeable and sensitive language understandable on any meridian or parallel, carrying a universal musical and poetic message. Ivica Zupan, Novi list, Rijeka, March, 2003, Croatia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TAMARA OBROVAC quartet - cd ULIKA excellent... this is a work filled with strong inner force which reinterprets the traditional popular sound in a manner yet unheard-of. Bojan Muscet, Zagreb, September 1998, Croatia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the THE crossroads of genres / CD ulika review Ulika is simply an extraordinary album, which defies every traditional critical meter; a fascinating project of an equisite musical journey, carried out with unhibited musical imagination and the luxurious talent of Tamara and her band. Zlatko Gall, Split, Feral tribune, August 1998, Croatia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TAMARA OBROVAC transhistria ensemble / www.tamaraobrovac.com / [email protected] 8
