"Autumn leaves in Sofia" – project by Mario Stanchev and Hristo Yotzov

published on 6/12/14 3:25 PM]

БНР Новини

Photo: private library

The new album "Autumn leaves in Sofia" was presented in the capital city of Sofia on June 11 before a concert during the Jazz Forum in Stara Zagora. The project brings together musicians from three different generations - Mario Stanchev (piano), Hristo Yotzov (drums) and Dimitar Karamfilov (double bass).

Famous jazz pianist and composer Mario Stanchev has been living in France since 1980. Over the years he has performed with some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world. This is his first project together with Hristo Yotzov - one of the most active jazz musicians in Bulgaria, who started his career in the late 70s and early 80s of the past century. Mario Stanchev told us more about Autumn Leaves:

"There are no coincidences. Many years ago I had a concert at the Music School in Sofia together with Simeon Shterev Quartet. Hristo was a student at that time. He listened to the show and now he says that at that time he imagined that one day he would perform with me. He became famous after I had left the country. My friends brought me his recordings in France. I listened to them and told myself I would work with him one day. This has finally become true. Hristo invited young double bassist Mitko Karamfilov. It all started last summer when we had a concert in Studio One of the BNR. The invitation came from the radio. It was in the holiday season, but the hall was crowded with audience. It was a wonderful experience and we decided to move forward. I must point out that this is a project of Mario Stanchev and Hristo Yotzov. We selected the pieces together. The majority of the works are mine. We also included one of his compositions and several jazz standards. We presented the project to the French audience in March and it was well received. I hope we will be successful in Bulgaria, too.”

Among the jazz standards mentioned by Mario Stanchev in the interview is a popular piece by Joseph Kosma "Autumn Leaves." This work gave the title of the album, but with a little addition - the name of the Bulgarian capital city. It is the meeting place for the three musicians and their audience and the city where this project was born.