When Milcho Leviev left Bulgaria, it was 1970. A new generation has grown up since. Can you possibly imagine how much has flowed under his fingers since then, how many concerts, records, arrangements and compositions he has done. And all these have been beyond reach in his native country, his music was arrested and silent. It was yet another enormity of a society the memory of which will still be haunting our dreams for years to come.
Yet, in spite of everything, of the distance and the impossibility of normal communication, Milcho Leviev's influence on the development of Bulgarian jazz did not decrease. His ideas in the 60's were the basis for almost all young musicians to set forth on the way. All new records of Don Ellis's orchestra in which Mr Leviev was playing and expressing his ideas in the early 70's, were enthusiastically received. The speed at which musicians and fans spread his recordings with Billy Cobham and Airto Moreira, the news about his work with Art Pepper, Willy Bobo, Carmen McRay, Eddie Jefferson was unbelievable; the success of his arrangements for Al Jerreau and the Manhattan Transfer, the appearance of the Free Flight Quartet declared by the Los Angeles Times a Combo of the Year in 1982, were all a source of genuine enjoyment. There followed his fortunate artistic contacts with Roy Hines, Dave Holland, then new great works, Symphojazz Sketches and the Orpheus Rhapsody. His aspiring soul could not stand still, it kept its quest... His versatility in being a talented composer, arranger and pianist enhanced his status as a model of emulation for the musicians of our times. His novel ideas of integration between jazz, folk and classical music have come to be an overall mode of reality.
The national spirit is a determining characteristic in his brilliant individuality. With him folk music is not a means of simply demonstrating national sound, it is an inner urge, an indispensable part of his artistic invention, of his life. This seems the reason of his pieces being so natural and easy to perceive. People remember and love them.
Twenty years later Mr Leviev's music is again a large. Those who remember the Jazz Focus 65 concerts are surprised by his modern sound, while the young discover a whole new world
of fresh ideas and his free play of imagination. His fans admire his music even more when it is performed by the composer himself. After his 1980 and 1981 concerts in the Universiade Hall, Milcho Leviev visited Bulgarian early this year and had an intensive and strenuous tour during the New Year's holidays. He gave six concerts in eight days, four of them in the National Palace of Culture and two in his native town of Plovdiv. To all these one should also add his appearance in the New Years Concert where he conveyed his message through his improvisation on John Lennon's Imagine.
The audience was once again impressed by Mr Leviev's specific skill in intertwining unexpected motifs in the themes he improvised on, enlivening them with his brilliant sense of humor, provoking the listener by the witty turns of his thought and imbuing them with new meaning. The concert included herewith was recorded on January 4, 1990 at Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture packed by almost 4,000 people. The first part feature Mr Leviev's own works of the last few years, and in the second, he presented his surprise, the discovery of his tour, the First Kaval of the Planet, as he called him, Theodosii Spassov. Mr Leviev considers him a genuine phenomenon, a musician beyond any boundary, who can inherently synthesize jazz, folk, pop and classical music. Their meeting was a happy chance, an event enthusiastically received by the audience; it turned into a new free flight of artistic imagination. - Yordan Roupchev
Tracks
1. Up And Down (Milcho Leviev)
2. For Frederic And Bill (For Frederic Chopin And Bill Evans) (Milcho Leviev)
3. Con Mucho Gusto (Milcho Leviev)
4. Samba Deborah (For My Wife) (Milcho Leviev)
5. Women's Dance (Milcho Leviev)
6. Jim, Gem, Jam (For James Gallaway) (Milcho Leviev)
7. Raga Todor (Milcho Leviev/Theodosii Spassov)
8. Sad, A Little Bit (Milcho Leviev)
9. Gourbet Mohabet (Theodosii Spassov)
MILCHO LEVIEV piano
THEODOSII SPASSOV kaval
Recorded live January 4, 1990 at Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture
Balkanton Records 070093 (Bulgaria)