STRAIGHT
NO CHASER (Summer 2001, page 9) Karl Injex
Zeljko
Kerleta, through
his Cosmic Sounds imprint, has brought light to selection of European
jazz
sides long overlooked, and long overdue for rediscovery. In a similar
vein
as the JCR, Amiga and Muza compilations, and the recent Re-spins series
on Spinning Wheel, Kerleta digs deep into the vaults of the best
Russian,
Czech and Yugoslavian jazz labels of the past five decades to give us a
glimpse of this unique and inspiring take on the jazz idiom. From
wicked
straight ahead sessions to the most heady fusion experiments Cosmic
Sounds
delivers a destilled narrative in the form of handful of well defined
compilations,
each containing excellent liner notes and historically foundation. This
BBC architect turned jazz warrior has put it on the line for the music,
and his respect is certainly due. Check Cosmic Sounds at your local
vinyl
purveyor.
GILLES PETERSON (Summer
2001 at Cargo club, about Zeljko Kerleta and Cosmic Sounds, from TV
interview):
Cosmic
Sounds label is so
cool. And not just the music that he is pulling out from the back
catalogue
from his country but also the new music he's making. He's making some
really
interesting things which are really original and quirky and exciting.
The
more people like him the better it is. And there are people like him
coming
from all over the world now. He is very hot. He's very, very hot.
ECHOES (April 2001)
Elia Ruli
ZELJKO
KERLETA IS ON A MISSION.
THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN EXPLAIN THE RELEASE OF 14 ALBUMS IN THE
SPACE
OF YEAR-AND-A-HALF. And the fact that the label is attracting attention
from some of the scene's players like Peter Kruder and Ross Allen is no
surprise when you learn that Cosmic Sounds London specialises in
excavating
and re-releasing Eastern European jazz from the last four decades -
delivering
compilations of jazz from Russia Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia and
beyond
as well as repressing original albums by some of those countries' top
talents.
Possibly not the most commercial proposition but Zeljko is all about
love...
Cosmic Sounds - London is not just a re-issue label; it also presents
new
artists making contemporary jazzy sounds. One of these artists is
Zeljko
himself...."
STRAIGHT
NO CHASER (Spring
2001, page 9) Karl Injex
Look
into Zeljko Kerleta's
excellent Cosmic Sounds label for a dose of Eastern European Jazz
21st-century
style.
PHILLIP
ANNIS
Personally,
I think your
musical enterprise does more for bringing Eastern Europe closer to the
so-called West than any amount of political initiatives from the EC.
Above
all - great music! What I particularly like about your label is that it
is - in a way - re-writing musical history. By releasing a lot of
jazz music - hitherto - unavailable in the West - you are - as it were
filling in the blank bits on
the musical map
- and giving the lie to the notion that jazz music - in particular -
stopped
at the Berlin wall. And if jazz music is - as like to think of it
- freedom music, your releases show that it can thrive even in the most
inhospitable conditions - just as it did in a racially divided America.
ALAN
ELIAZAR, promoter, Memphis, USA
what to
say? have you ever heard music that is so new and fresh and exciting
that you feel like you dare not play it for anyone else because you
want it all to yourself? music that is inspiring, innovative, and
alive? thats how i feel about the package you just sent me. my crap
speakers on my pc did absolutley no justice to the music you are
putting out. the best part is, i feel like these records are the very
tip of an enormous love-boat-eating iceberg, and everyone is going to
enjoy drowning afterwards. i cant say enough great things about the
stuff you sent me, and without sounding too ridiculous. thanks again
for putting out such a great music...
DJ TRUE ("Deeper Than Disco" on WHCR 90.3 FM NYC, Harlem Community Radio)
You
guys are awesome. Just thought I'd let you guys know, there hasn't been
a time I played your records that didn't result in countless inquiries.
Keep up the great work. In a minute...
ALAN
GUBBY (TRUE (Jung Collective / Nanny Tango)
...thanks for re-discovering some of the
best, deepest, most cosmic music I've been lucky enough to hear in
recent years.
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