The Mellophonium Magazine - "The Soulful Heritage" Irina pavlovic - By Adriano Ghirardo

Often the categorizations are the fruit of the imagination of some music critics. But the "Serbian wave" of jazz, excellently presented and supported by Antonio Martino's A.MA Records label, is a reality capable of producing fresh music albeit indebted to the great American tradition. The pianist Irina Pavlovic fits perfectly into this movement with a record that pays homage to the soul jazz of the 60s through her compositions that echo the atmospheres of Horace Silver and, at times, of the Mingus of masterpieces such as "Ah-um" and "Blues & Roots ”. Accompanying her on this journey are the trumpet of Ivan Radivojevic (already an appreciated leader in the album “In plain view”, published by the same label), the tenor sax of Rastko Obradovic, the double bass of Milan Nikolic and the drums alternating between Dusan Novakov and Luka Jovicic . Confirming the link between the Serbian scene and the United States is the presence of guests such as Corey Wilcox on trombone and Dean Bowman who lends his warm voice to the title track. But it is not a derivative operation bent on the past as the talent of Serbian musicians allows us to grasp a "soulful legacy" and transform it into a good contemporary product. And in the song “Our tree”, which closes this successful work, Pavlovic performs alone on the electric piano adding a touch of introspection to a record full of soul and blues.