Talented musicians and great music are everywhere in this world. Luckily we have the world wide web to help expose this music to us that we may never get to hear in a live setting. The different nuances on the standard genres, from different parts of the world, always amaze me. A good example is our latest find, Luka Veselinovic.
The Croatian Jazz artist has an energetic style that stands out in a sometimes crowded scene. I have never personally been to Zagreb, Croatia, but if this kind of originality exists there maybe I should make the trip. Luka was born into a musical family with his father a guitarist in a pop band and his grandmother a classical piano teacher. Initially he had not intended to enter the musician’s life studying art history and social sciences but he caught the bug when a friend’s punk band needed a bassist. He picked up the instrument and was hooked. As he dove into lessons and self-study, Luka leaned towards improvisational Jazz and joined many groups to gain invaluable experience. His ride culminated with a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College Of Music in Boston, Mass.
While in Boston, Luka Veselinovic recorded his first debut album, Magnetic Whale. He recruited some of the finest musicians from Berklee College to record his original compositions, and mixed and mastered the album himself. The 6-track record shows off influences from every end of the Jazz spectrum. The opener and title track ‘Magnetic Whale’ has flashes of expertise on every instrument. These are talented players. This is not jazz to sit in the background and be ignored, this is “excitement jazz” that will keep your attention fixed. The exoticness continues on songs ‘Mr Newbold’ and ‘Deep Skin’. It is hard to imagine a group of such phenomenal musicians all sitting together and creating these sounds. I am looking forward to sharing this record at my next brunch party and answering the question “Where did you find this?” over and over again. Take a listen for yourself at: https://soundcloud.com/lukaveselinovic-veselino/sets/magnetic-whale
And follow Luka Veselinovic at: http://lukaveselinovic.com
