Srdjan Ivanovic – Cosmogonie

Following the excellent *Modular* (a septet album reviewed here two years ago), drummer Srdjan Ivanovic—originally from Sarajevo and based in France for the past few years—returns to his Blazing Quartet, featuring a distinctly international lineup: a Greek trumpeter, an Italian guitarist, and a Bulgarian double bassist.

This speaks to the leader’s strong European roots, and his music is rich with Balkan and Mediterranean influences. The two melodic voices—the guitar and the trumpet—each possess a distinctive and highly personal tone. Federico Casagrande is well known in France, where he settled some time ago, and his sound and phrasing—partly inherited from Bill Frisell—have made him a highly sought-after sideman in France, in addition to his performances in his native Italy.

Greek trumpeter Andreas Polyzogopoulos is less well known here in France, and it is a splendid discovery to hear him, with a beautifully timbred sound that is at times velvety and at times rougher, modulating lovely melodic phrases and launching into inspired solos. Ivanovic’s compositions are mostly dreamy and atmospheric, which gives them a unique charm and lends this album an original flavor, at times reminiscent of chamber music, lush rock, or laid-back folk, where a focus on melody and the group’s sound takes center stage.

The leader’s drumming is at times rather understated, at others more energetic, as one senses that Ivanovic wants above all to highlight his compositions, which flow one after another to form a sort of suite evoking the birth of the world in Greek mythology—hence the CD’s title, “Cosmogony.”

As for Mihail Ivanov’s double bass, it is constantly present and provides the ensemble with a deep, earthy foundation of the highest order.

Here, then, is an album that stands as yet another milestone in the discography of a prolific drummer-leader who knows how to reinvent himself by regularly offering us works that lead us to follow his evolution with the greatest interest.

Line up:

Srdjan Ivanovic: drums

Andreas Polyzogopoulos: trumpet

Federico Casagrande: guitar

Mihail Ivanov: double bass

Release Concert: Studio de l’Ermitage, April 8, 2026 at 8 :00pm. Tickets Here!

Other important concert on April 16 at Podgorica, Montenegro for the J.A.M. Festival.

Cosmogonie, wins the mythic Hit Couleurs Jazz and belongs to the 12 (Olympus Gods) or more simply, the 12 March 2026 « Best of the Month ». Il was released by the leader’s Label, Rue des Balkans.