ZZ Quartet with Ratko Zjaca & Simone Zanchini - Beyond the Lines (2016) [Hi-Res]

Purists may relax: The ZZ Quartet has hardly anything to do with the Texan Blues rock band ZZ Top. Instead, the band‘s forceful initials originate from the surnames of the initiators Ratko Zjaca (guitar) and Simone Zanchini (accordion). After the sensational 2010 début album The Way We Talk (In + Out Records) they have returned to the studio once again, together with Martin Gjakonovski (bass) and Adam Nussbaum (drums), to write another chapter in the history of cross-border jazz. But - jazz?

“By now, this term in its classic American meaning is no longer sufficient,” muses Simone Zanchini. “What we do clearly has European roots, many classical influences, folklore, avant-garde, improvisation, sometimes fusion too. You‘ll only find something akin to swing in one piece at the most, but yet a distinct rhythm pervades the entire album”. And Ratko Zjaca believes he discerns an element of rock and pop music in the ZZ Quartet‘s compact, self-contained, highly exciting sound, which sometimes goes against the grain.

“We function as a band first and foremost; we have got to know and appreciate each other these last four years. It may be customary in jazz to play with new people again and again, to take on the unexpected, to act out one‘s individuality. We, on the other hand, draw predominantly on our mutual trust. Not for nothing were legendary bands such as Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and Weather Report able to develop their concept continuously over a long period of time”.

A small hint of ZZ Top after all, then, albeit in the philosophical sense. “We never wanted to make an album that was just purely jazz,” says Ratko Zjaca, explaining the motive of the ZZ Quartet which, on The Way We Talk still bears his name in classic jazz fashion. “The preferences and the musical socializations of the four of us are too different for that. None of us wants to be con ned or enslaved to a particular style any more”. Zjaca, the guitarist, is from Croatia but has made the Netherlands his home for more than 20 years. Zanchini, the accordion player, is from Italy, Martin Gjakonovski, the bass player, is from Macedonia, but has been living in Bergisch Gladbach, near Cologne, for 23 years. And Adam Nussbaum, the authority on drums, is from New York. An international task force of esthetic possibilities is searching for the truth beyond the generally accepted lines of demarcation. Beyond The Lines. Which lines? “In effect this is about every line,” says Ratko. “Everything we hear goes into what we do. The passion for lm music as well as the secret love of rock, the admiration of classical music, the longing for folk and, of course, the burning desire for jazz and its possibilities for improvisation.“

Hence, they play no standards. Nine of the eleven tracks, which all have it in them to become new standards, were penned by Ratko Zjaca and Simone Zanchini and one each by Adam Nussbaum and his daughter Maja (“Days Of Old”) and by Martin Gjakonovski (“The South Song”). A different concept, a foreign path, which nevertheless leads into familiar areas. The change is most clearly noticeable in “The Clockwork” by Zanchini. “We have developed further”, the accordion wizard emphasizes. “This begins with our compositions and becomes most obvious when we play together. We move much further away from guidelines than we used to and have become more mature, more grown-up. Everything is balanced, even if Ratko and I have written most of the tracks” ZZ are both from the same corner of Europe, but could not be much greater opposites as far as their nature is concerned. Together with the two other guys and their respective backgrounds, this adds up to an unbelievable mixture, a wonderfully tasty cake, for which the recipe and especially the chemistry are really good. For example, Adam Nussbaum, who in his long life as a drummer has already set the beat for John Abercrombie, Paul Bley, Michael Brecker, Tom Harrell, Lee Konitz, David Liebman, John Sco eld, and also the Allman Brothers Band and Jaco Pastorius, calls the ZZ Quartet „one of the craziest bands I have played with in the last 30 years“. Still in doubt? Just give it a go and leave your (listening) habits behind.

"On this outstanding album, Croatia’s Ratko Zjaca and Italy’s Simone Zanchini manifest a level of creative compatibility that can genuinely be described as phenomenal. And they receive impeccable support from Macedonia’s Martin Gjakonovski and America’s Adam Nussbaum..." (Mike Hennessey)

"One of the most interesting and innovative accordion and guitar player in Europe" (AllAboutJazz)

Ratko Zjaca, electric guitar, acoustic & bariton guitar, effects
Simone Zanchini, accordion, live electronics
Martin Gjakonovski, double bass
Adam Nussbaum, drums