Having traced the invisible cultural links of Central, Southern and Eastern Europe with Invisible Bridges, Dusha Connection has unearthed a musical treasure:

the trails of traditional folk music and their cross-fertilisation—against the background of Europe’s diverse population and changing history—provided the inspiration for this quintessentially „European“ jazz album.

At the end of the 15th century, Sephardic Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal and migrated to the Mediterranean East. And thus, for example, a fado theme can be heard in the leitmotif of a Bosnian sevdalinka, the ballad typical of Sarajevo (My Dear), and Yiddish klezmer harmonies appear in Macedonian folk songs (Early Dawn).

Since the Ottoman period, oriental scales and rhythms have shaped the song traditions of the Eastern Balkans (Wedding Trip, Love Games).

The Viennese Ensemble Dusha Connection feat. Wolfgang Puschnig traces its own history and identity with great musical sensitivity; idiosyncratic, delicate, and sometimes boisterous acoustic arrangements are interpreting the partially forgotten folk tunes of their European cultural heritage into a contemporary jazz language, often keeping the original uneven rhythms, thus far quite unusual in jazz. (Pressetext)

Alena Baich

Wolfgang Puschnig – Alto Saxophone
Sebastian Schneider – Piano
Clemens Rofner – Double Bass
Esad Halilovic – Drums