Dimitar Bodurov: - piano | Mihail Ivanov: - bass | Jens Dueppe: - drums & percussionStamps from Bulgaria is the result of a long-term investigation into Bulgarian Folklore and its correlation with other music traditions and instruments. For me, there were two personal challenges in this project: as composer and as pianist.
My approach as composer was to avoid rearranging these songs, but rather to treat them as any other compositional element such as a major triad, a rhythmical phrase, intervals, etc. Thus establishing a process of de- and re-construction, which will eventually result in a new musical form, which is sometimes closer to the original than others.
On selecting the songs, I searched carefully for any personal and emotional connection and/or something unique (such as odd time measure, lyrics, or just a melody), which also contained enough dramatic potential, yet leaving room for exploration.
As a pianist I referred to the traditional singing and instruments in an attempt to apply their specific characteristics on the piano keyboard. I treated the piano as a melodic rather than harmonic instrument, which is its most common function.
All songs come from different regions of Bulgaria. Some are more popular than others. It is of course arguable which songs are actually Bulgarian, but this issue gives another dimension to my research and poses the question of national identity - a much discussed issue in a modern multi-cultural society.

With their new album Seven Stamps, Bodurov Trio continue delving into Bulgarian folklore and further narrowing their search to the intrinsic variations of the very popular rhythm in 7.
Different regions have their own interpretation and names of it such as Rychenica, Chetvorno, Elenino Horo, etc.
In combination with other measures, the rhythm in seven, serves as a basis for other so called additive measures, which provide countless possibilities for interpretation.

The trio will be also joined by the internationally acclaimed kaval player Theodosii Spassov, who is one of the pioneers in connecting Bulgarian Folklore with the jazz tradition, as well as a great inspiration for many musicians.

"Stamps from Bulgaria" ist das Ergebnis einer viele Jahre dauernden Auseinandersetzung des Trios mit der bulgarischen Folklore und ihrer harmonischen und rhythmischen Verknüpfung mit dem Jazz. Alle Titel der CD basieren auf alten bulgarischen Liedern, die Bodurov reharmonisiert, rhythmisch verändert und in die Sprache des Jazz übersetzt hat. Herausgekommen ist kein Folk-Album mit Jazztouch, aber auch kein Jazzalbum mit ein paar fremd klingenden Melodien. Dem Trio ist es gelungen, eine eigene Ausdrucksform zu finden, die beide Genres zu etwas Neuem verknüpft - ein überaus spannendes Hörerlebnis!