FORTUNETELLERS, MAGICIANS AND WITCHES ARE NO LONGER ENOUGH AND THE WORLD CALLS ON
DRAGON’S FUEL
TO DISTURB THE ORDER IN THE SYSTEM, FOR ASCENDANCE INTO PARALLEL DIMENSIONS AND AWAKENING OF HIGHER WORLDS IN YOU.
Dragon’s Fuel began their musical journey as a quartet, with saxophonists Predrag Okiljević and Vojislav Savkov, bassist Marko Čurčić and drummer Lav Kovač. Very quickly they established themselves as one of the leading bands of the contemporary jazz scene in Serbia, and they expanded their activities by starting the publishing house Horz and founding several other bands gathered around this adventurous collective. Their eclectic expression on the first two albums, imbued with humor in the names of the tracks and the arrangements themselves, corresponded to a good extent with the trends on the contemporary British jazz scene close to bands like Polar Bear, Led Bib or Get The Blessing.
On the current album Fruška Džungla, the band is joined by Ivan Burka on vibraphone, marimba and percussion. Now as a quintet, Dragon’s Fuel devotes itself even more to the compositions themselves, with a focus on carefully designed themes, i.e. more compact improvisations. “On this album, we tried to convey how we hear Fruška Gora, which was especially inspiring to us. Our desire was to, especially in the era of lockdown, when most of the compositions were created, to provide the listener with moments of meditation and a form of satisfaction, through warmer melodies.”
I’ve listened to some of the domestic jazz albums much more than the “top” foreign releases which are probably “objectively” better, whatever that means. In the first place is Dragon’s Fuel and their great album of this year “Fruška Džungla”… The album also has a specific production “audiophile” note, it is very warm, and maybe one of the few jazz albums that will offer at least equally exciting home listening, as the one at concerts.” – Nikola Marković – Jazzin.rs
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“Dragon’s Fuel’s third album, called Fruška Džungla, represents a fairly clear step forward…With two percussionists in the line-up and music written by far the most by the rhythm section, you certainly expect an emphasized rhythmic component and, to be clear, it is not lacking, on the contrary, but Fruška Jungle is characterized above all by how emphatically quiet the musicians play most of the time. This is, therefore, more of a reflective album, a place for contemplation, than an invitation to dance and to follow the narrative.” – Mehmet Krljić, Cveće Zla I Naopakog
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“Dragon’s Fuel inherited a more measured British version, compared to the wild New York version of neo-jazz-rock, but no less eclectic, witty and playful. On the new album, Ivan Burka (marimba, vibraphone and percussion) joined the line-up, which brought a greater focus of the band on the songs themselves, that is, careful playing around a beautiful melody as a central arrangement concept. Due to this instrumental addition, associations with exoticism as a musical subgenre of the late fifties are unavoidable. Dragon’s Fuel may have lost its edge, but it has gained in maturity, volume in sound and above all in the ability to evolve and grow and develop as a band.” – Hi-Files magazine
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“Each of the 11 tracks leads stylistically to the next and there is never a feeling of having too much of one thing. Just like a good rakia. The band is part of the Horz collective and this is its second album—youthful, confident and energetic.” – AllAboutJazz, “Oranges” review
Vojislav Savkov – tenor & soprano sax
Predrag Okiljević – tenor sax
Marko Čurčić – bass guitar, fx
Ivan Burka – marimba, vibraphone, various percussion
Lav Kovač – drums, fx
contact/booking: horzmusic @ gmail.com
+381 63 8922 995