DEN ZA DEN

Short-lived Fusion band from Skopje, formed in 1978 and featuring ex-Leb i sol's drummer Dimitar Cokorovski.Original crew comprised also of Vladimir Jankulovski on bass, Dragisa Soldatovic on keyboards/piano and Sinisa Stojanovski on guitar, the later was very soon replaced by Arian Dema.The band recorded one and only self-titled work at Studio Akademik in Ljubljana, released in 1980 on the Slovenian RTV label.

Did Cocorovski bring some of LEB I SOL's energy into this fresh start?Because Den Za Den's high-octane gears, extreme interplays and furious grooves are so reminiscent of the compatriot Jazz-Fusion legends.The band always plays in uptempo, featuring very strong melodies, impressive breaks and fiery rhythms and solos, while their music contains some nice tunes propably from Balkan and Latin tradition.Cocorovski is a very skilled drummer, no doubt about this, but his colleagues are also excellent.Plenty of electric piano and synth flashes, technical guitar parts and intelligent bass plays complete a band with a passionate, instrumental sound, heading only for the mystified.It seems like they're playing a thousand notes in a single minute and all pieces are very dense, full of both dramatic and energetic moods, sounding a bit like BRAND X and GUALDAQUIVIR, never forgetting to throw in some more melodious ideas, but mostly led by their love for dynamic, solid and intricate jazzy patterns.And there are stll some progressive flashes within the structures, where melody and atmosphere meet technique and virtuosity.

Den Za Den unfortunately disbanded in 1980.Soldatovic later played with the underground band Paskvalija, but he sadly passed away in 2008.

LEB I SOL-linked fast and furious Jazz Fusion with fascinating interactions and solos but some more melodic and down-to-earth passages as well.One of the best of the style and highly recommended.