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Review
Right now, Amira is simply one of Europe s most spellbinding vocalists. --Ken Hunt, fRoots October 2011
Amira Medunjanin better known by her stage name Amira is one of Europe's finest and most soulful singers. Born in Sarajevo, she is one of the greatest exponents of Bosnian sevdah, a mostly slow, sad and passionate style that is the Balkan answer to the blues or Cape Verdean morna; no surprise then that she has already been compared to Billie Holiday and Cesaria Evora. This new set certainly proves she has the potential to become a global success, and also that she is willing to experiment. In the past, she has been backed by a band, the Mostar Sevdah Reunion, and by accordion, but here she is joined by a jazz trio, led by pianist Bojan Z. The songs are all traditional, mostly from Bosnia but also from Macedonia and Kosovo, and most are sad-edged love ballads, with just one stomping comic piece added in. Bojan often sounds desperate to break away to show off his rapid-fire jazz work, and there are adventurous sections where the piano and guitar solos contrast strongly with the vocals, or where echoing effects are added in. But Amira's exquisite, clear and pained singing holds the set together. **** four stars --The Guardian
One of those all too rare albums that should appeal to lovers of world music and jazz alike. The divine Bosnian Amira Medunjanin has been winning converts steadily over the past decade anyone who caught her recitals at St Ethelburga s Church, in the City of London, will have fallen for her. Her bold new venture finds her backed by a group led by the Serbian jazz pianist known as Bojan Z. If his own recordings can be bombastic, he cuts a much more discreet figure on settings of traditional Balkan songs that effortlessly incorporate downtown jazz harmonies. Amira sounds at ease; uncluttered production enhances the purity of her timbre. Superb. --Sunday Times
Stylish Bosnian chanteuse Amira Medunjanin makes sevdah, the Sarajevo café blues, sound like the most languorous, meditative kind of show tune on this beautifully understated collaboration with Serbian jazz pianist Bojan Z. The songs here are all classics, a sort of Great Balkan Songbook, with her cool, creamy and surprisingly unoriental voice wringing many layers of feeling from their dark, bittersweet melodies. FOUR STARS --Daily Telegraph
One of those all too rare albums that should appeal to lovers of world music and jazz alike. The divine Bosnian Amira Medunjanin has been winning converts steadily over the past decade anyone who caught her recitals at St Ethelburga s Church, in the City of London, will have fallen for her. Her bold new venture finds her backed by a group led by the Serbian jazz pianist known as Bojan Z. If his own recordings can be bombastic, he cuts a much more discreet figure on settings of traditional Balkan songs that effortlessly incorporate downtown jazz harmonies. Amira sounds at ease; uncluttered production enhances the purity of her timbre. Superb. --Sunday Times
Stylish Bosnian chanteuse Amira Medunjanin makes sevdah, the Sarajevo café blues, sound like the most languorous, meditative kind of show tune on this beautifully understated collaboration with Serbian jazz pianist Bojan Z. The songs here are all classics, a sort of Great Balkan Songbook, with her cool, creamy and surprisingly unoriental voice wringing many layers of feeling from their dark, bittersweet melodies. FOUR STARS --Daily Telegraph
Sarajevo-born Amira Medunjanin sings "sevdah", the urban folk music of Bosnia drawing on styles from Ottoman, Magyar, Roma, and Ladino sources. It's tinged with sadness, but is mostly to do with making love by moonlight. Dubbed "Bosnia's Billie Holiday", Amira has found new realms of expression in it. This sees her teaming up with pianist Bojan Z plus a small but expressive band, where the bass acts as ballast for Amira's breathy flights above. --The Independent on Sunday
Stylish Bosnian chanteuse Amira Medunjanin makes sevdah, the Sarajevo café blues, sound like the most languorous, meditative kind of show tune on this beautifully understated collaboration with Serbian jazz pianist Bojan Z. The songs here are all classics, a sort of Great Balkan Songbook, with her cool, creamy and surprisingly unoriental voice wringing many layers of feeling from their dark, bittersweet melodies. FOUR STARS --Daily Telegraph
Amira Medunjanin better known by her stage name Amira is one of Europe's finest and most soulful singers. Born in Sarajevo, she is one of the greatest exponents of Bosnian sevdah, a mostly slow, sad and passionate style that is the Balkan answer to the blues or Cape Verdean morna; no surprise then that she has already been compared to Billie Holiday and Cesaria Evora. This new set certainly proves she has the potential to become a global success, and also that she is willing to experiment. In the past, she has been backed by a band, the Mostar Sevdah Reunion, and by accordion, but here she is joined by a jazz trio, led by pianist Bojan Z. The songs are all traditional, mostly from Bosnia but also from Macedonia and Kosovo, and most are sad-edged love ballads, with just one stomping comic piece added in. Bojan often sounds desperate to break away to show off his rapid-fire jazz work, and there are adventurous sections where the piano and guitar solos contrast strongly with the vocals, or where echoing effects are added in. But Amira's exquisite, clear and pained singing holds the set together. **** four stars --The Guardian
One of those all too rare albums that should appeal to lovers of world music and jazz alike. The divine Bosnian Amira Medunjanin has been winning converts steadily over the past decade anyone who caught her recitals at St Ethelburga s Church, in the City of London, will have fallen for her. Her bold new venture finds her backed by a group led by the Serbian jazz pianist known as Bojan Z. If his own recordings can be bombastic, he cuts a much more discreet figure on settings of traditional Balkan songs that effortlessly incorporate downtown jazz harmonies. Amira sounds at ease; uncluttered production enhances the purity of her timbre. Superb. --Sunday Times
Stylish Bosnian chanteuse Amira Medunjanin makes sevdah, the Sarajevo café blues, sound like the most languorous, meditative kind of show tune on this beautifully understated collaboration with Serbian jazz pianist Bojan Z. The songs here are all classics, a sort of Great Balkan Songbook, with her cool, creamy and surprisingly unoriental voice wringing many layers of feeling from their dark, bittersweet melodies. FOUR STARS --Daily Telegraph
One of those all too rare albums that should appeal to lovers of world music and jazz alike. The divine Bosnian Amira Medunjanin has been winning converts steadily over the past decade anyone who caught her recitals at St Ethelburga s Church, in the City of London, will have fallen for her. Her bold new venture finds her backed by a group led by the Serbian jazz pianist known as Bojan Z. If his own recordings can be bombastic, he cuts a much more discreet figure on settings of traditional Balkan songs that effortlessly incorporate downtown jazz harmonies. Amira sounds at ease; uncluttered production enhances the purity of her timbre. Superb. --Sunday Times
Stylish Bosnian chanteuse Amira Medunjanin makes sevdah, the Sarajevo café blues, sound like the most languorous, meditative kind of show tune on this beautifully understated collaboration with Serbian jazz pianist Bojan Z. The songs here are all classics, a sort of Great Balkan Songbook, with her cool, creamy and surprisingly unoriental voice wringing many layers of feeling from their dark, bittersweet melodies. FOUR STARS --Daily Telegraph
Sarajevo-born Amira Medunjanin sings "sevdah", the urban folk music of Bosnia drawing on styles from Ottoman, Magyar, Roma, and Ladino sources. It's tinged with sadness, but is mostly to do with making love by moonlight. Dubbed "Bosnia's Billie Holiday", Amira has found new realms of expression in it. This sees her teaming up with pianist Bojan Z plus a small but expressive band, where the bass acts as ballast for Amira's breathy flights above. --The Independent on Sunday
Stylish Bosnian chanteuse Amira Medunjanin makes sevdah, the Sarajevo café blues, sound like the most languorous, meditative kind of show tune on this beautifully understated collaboration with Serbian jazz pianist Bojan Z. The songs here are all classics, a sort of Great Balkan Songbook, with her cool, creamy and surprisingly unoriental voice wringing many layers of feeling from their dark, bittersweet melodies. FOUR STARS --Daily Telegraph
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Amira Medunjanin is a singer from Sarajevo. She possesses a gloriously
evocative voice. It hits you in the solar plexus and makes your blood
run faster, even though the ten tracks in this collection are largely
slow in tempo and melancholy in mood. I am unfamiliar with the genre of
Eastern European compositional form but understand that all these songs
are traditional compositions given a somewhat jazzy spin by the accomplished
trio which accompanies her. The experience is both seductive and magical.
Ms Medunjanin doesn't have to work hard to let her talent shine. Whether
in the gloriously hushed performance of 'Kafu Mi Draga Ispeci', a lulaby
delivered with impeccable phrasing and feeling; the dark, smoky intensity
of opening track 'Bele Ruze', with no more than a double bass to keep her
on course; the remarkable breath control of the simply sublime 'Jano Mori',
or the subtle quasi-Arabic-cum-Latin dance rhythms of 'Oj Ti Momce Ohrigjance',
she never once drops a stitch. Look no further, however, than the haunting
'Sabahzorski Vjetrovi' to encounter the full force of her unimpeachable gift.
It is, without doubt, one of the most captivating songs I have heard this year.
Once heard, 'Amulette' is unlikely ever to be forgotten.
Essential.
evocative voice. It hits you in the solar plexus and makes your blood
run faster, even though the ten tracks in this collection are largely
slow in tempo and melancholy in mood. I am unfamiliar with the genre of
Eastern European compositional form but understand that all these songs
are traditional compositions given a somewhat jazzy spin by the accomplished
trio which accompanies her. The experience is both seductive and magical.
Ms Medunjanin doesn't have to work hard to let her talent shine. Whether
in the gloriously hushed performance of 'Kafu Mi Draga Ispeci', a lulaby
delivered with impeccable phrasing and feeling; the dark, smoky intensity
of opening track 'Bele Ruze', with no more than a double bass to keep her
on course; the remarkable breath control of the simply sublime 'Jano Mori',
or the subtle quasi-Arabic-cum-Latin dance rhythms of 'Oj Ti Momce Ohrigjance',
she never once drops a stitch. Look no further, however, than the haunting
'Sabahzorski Vjetrovi' to encounter the full force of her unimpeachable gift.
It is, without doubt, one of the most captivating songs I have heard this year.
Once heard, 'Amulette' is unlikely ever to be forgotten.
Essential.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
It is criminal that there is only one, albeit excellent, review to date. For the uninitiated, sevdah is the Bosnian fado and Amira is, or should be, its Mariza.
The Balkans have a wonderful musical tradition which has not been showcased to the world as much as it should be and it would be a huge shame if the introductory notes by Alexander Hemon or presence of Serbian-born but French-based jazz pianist Bojan Z, who oversees a reinterpretation of the music, do not provide greater exposure.
Returning to Amira, she has a fantastic voice whose range, delivery and sheer emotion deserves comparison with Billie Holliday, Edith Piaf, Cesaria Evora and Mariza and a number of those who attended her concert in the intimate St Ethelburga's Centre earlier this year described it as one of, if not, the best they had ever attended.
The music is a mix of traditional songs from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia. There are not literal translations by the lyrics but explanations which convey sufficient essence of the meaning even if the emotion were not sufficient.
This is a rare event when no song is less than excellent and finding highlights is difficult but, if pushed, I would go for the Bosnian "Kafu mi draga ispeci" a song of spurning the love of an irresistible but unfaithful suitor, or the Macedonian "Jano Mori Jano Lele". Macedonian music, even by Balkan standards, has an incredibly haunting feel and Amira and Bojan Z weave a rich, slow-burning, spell of 7 plus minutes.
In a world of so much compelling music spanning the divides of jazz, world, folk and more, rarely have I been compelled to recommend a release so much. Essential
The Balkans have a wonderful musical tradition which has not been showcased to the world as much as it should be and it would be a huge shame if the introductory notes by Alexander Hemon or presence of Serbian-born but French-based jazz pianist Bojan Z, who oversees a reinterpretation of the music, do not provide greater exposure.
Returning to Amira, she has a fantastic voice whose range, delivery and sheer emotion deserves comparison with Billie Holliday, Edith Piaf, Cesaria Evora and Mariza and a number of those who attended her concert in the intimate St Ethelburga's Centre earlier this year described it as one of, if not, the best they had ever attended.
The music is a mix of traditional songs from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia. There are not literal translations by the lyrics but explanations which convey sufficient essence of the meaning even if the emotion were not sufficient.
This is a rare event when no song is less than excellent and finding highlights is difficult but, if pushed, I would go for the Bosnian "Kafu mi draga ispeci" a song of spurning the love of an irresistible but unfaithful suitor, or the Macedonian "Jano Mori Jano Lele". Macedonian music, even by Balkan standards, has an incredibly haunting feel and Amira and Bojan Z weave a rich, slow-burning, spell of 7 plus minutes.
In a world of so much compelling music spanning the divides of jazz, world, folk and more, rarely have I been compelled to recommend a release so much. Essential
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
Greatly appreciated and warmly recommended! Superb album!
25 April 2012
Format:Audio CD
For all of those who don't know the meaning of the word SEVDAH here is the quote by Kim Burton, fellow musician and author, which should give you an emotional guide before you listen to the Amulette: "It is not easy to find a single word in English that can stand for the Bosnian concept of Sevdah, although yearning perhaps comes closest. Like the Spanish duende, it carries multiple meanings - love, hopeless love, endless love, a desire that chills and fevers the lover like malaria, and like malaria can never be shaken off - but in the end, it's a way of life, and a narrative that tells the story of itself."
Recent renaissance of Sevdah in Bosnia and Herzegovina and explosion at the World Music scene has been trail-blazed by and taken to the new level by this new artist which represents this musical form like no one before. Music audiences across the Europe discovered Sevdah and fell in love with it, thanks to the angelic voice and passionate performances by Amira. "Amulette" is the latest and so far the brightest example of modern Bosnian sevdalinka, as well as some songs from other countries at Balkan Peninsula. If you like Folk/Jazz Fusion, you in for a treat. Amira's voice is in a full power and in perfect harmony with band made of internationally recognized artists: Bojan Zulfikarpasic, Nenad Vasilic, Bachar Kalife and Vlatko Stefanovski.
Greatly appreciated and warmly recommended! Superb album!
Recent renaissance of Sevdah in Bosnia and Herzegovina and explosion at the World Music scene has been trail-blazed by and taken to the new level by this new artist which represents this musical form like no one before. Music audiences across the Europe discovered Sevdah and fell in love with it, thanks to the angelic voice and passionate performances by Amira. "Amulette" is the latest and so far the brightest example of modern Bosnian sevdalinka, as well as some songs from other countries at Balkan Peninsula. If you like Folk/Jazz Fusion, you in for a treat. Amira's voice is in a full power and in perfect harmony with band made of internationally recognized artists: Bojan Zulfikarpasic, Nenad Vasilic, Bachar Kalife and Vlatko Stefanovski.
Greatly appreciated and warmly recommended! Superb album!
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