The Nikola Spasojevic Quintet and Voodoo Baby Aliens are both up and coming bands consisting of artists that draw inspiration from diverse eras and create an eclectic blend of influences. The show will open with the quintet’s original jazz compositions, presenting their own take on a combination of straight ahead and jazz fusion influences in a semi-acoustic setting. Later, Voodoo Baby Aliens will up the intensity with post-rock influences, electric guitars, keys, and vocals combined with some fusion inspired horn arrangements. The two bands have performed on the same bill before at the Youth Jazz and Rock Festival in Subotica, Serbia and are excited to share a stage again at Boston’s home for avant-garde music and art!
The Nikola Spasojevic Quintet creates musical conversations in which each member of the ensemble presents their individuality and conviction interpreted through the language of modern jazz. The choppy, improv-sparking drums along with the driving bass hooks provide the foundation for the group. The piano’s nudging chords give way to springing counter melodies. And on top, the horns coaxingly soulful melodies lead into vivacious solos that break off in contrasting musical directions. The band takes their music in unexpected directions, stretching out, resulting in movement of expression and self-identity. The quintet was formed at NYU with the goal of performing original compositions. It consists of: Jack Harre- drums, Arnie Sainz - piano, Warren Louise - bass, Eden Har-Gil - drums and Nikola Spasojevic - saxophones.
Voodoo Baby Aliens is a 12-piece Boston based post-rock group composed of musicians from eight different countries. The founder, Pavle Zvekic, often jokingly refers to the band's sound as "interstellar jazz-punk" since the group's eclectic, and often chaotic sound, cannot be placed into one definitive genre. Some of the band's main influences include Queens of the Stone Age, Idles, Black Country, New Road, Kamasi Washington, Radiohead, Viagra Boys, Black MIDI, Philip Glass, Nick Cave, The Strokes, Tom Waits, etc. The band contains members from Serbia, Macedonia, France, Spain, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland and US. In essence, Voodoo Baby Aliens is the definitive antidote to Austro-Hungarian post-pop depression. Personnel: Pavle Zvekic – piano, guitar Mahya Hamedi – vocals Justice Balabuszko - vocals Jakov Naumoski – guitar Ali Tahir – guitar Petar Sarkanjac – guitar Anderson Mirafzali – bass Willem Joches – drums Juan Saus Ruiz – alto saxophone Yuval Agam – tenor saxophone Tino Erdos – trombone Joey Du Bois - trumpet
Nikola Spasojevic Quintet:
Voodoo Baby Aliens:
David “Fuze” Fiuczynski’s KiF layers Eastern-inflected melodies into high energy funk
rock house ska reggae drumNbass electronica grooves into an other-worldly mix
moving from swinging, danceable beats to plaintive meditations over lush, brooding
and at times microtonal harmonies.
KiF was conceived, quite appropriately, at a musical meeting in Marrakech where
Moroccan players repeatedly mentioned that Jimi Hendrix had visited the country. Thus
was the inspiration for KiF..... Jimi playing hard grooves with Mid-Eastern inflected
melodies blending dervishes, minarets, spires, desert sands in the mind of an audience
entranced by colorful, multi-cultural musical palettes... could this be the music that Jimi
would play today?