About Leb I Sol

Leb i sol ("Леб и Сол", English "Bread and Salt") is a Macedonian jazz fusion group founded in 1976 in Skopje. The original line-up was: Vlatko Stefanovski (guitar), Bodan Arsovski (bass guitar), Nikola Dimuševski (keyboards), and Garabet Tavitijan (drums). Their music combined elements of rock, jazz, and local ethnic music. As the band matured, the jazz influences became less obvious. However, in concert, Leb i sol's performances of jazzed-up and lengthy versions of traditional ethno-folk classics such as "Jovano, Jovanke" or "Aber Dojde, Donke", were often received with great enthusiasm and applause. In the beginning Leb i Sol were greatly influenced by the ex-Yugoslav jazz-rock fusion group Smak, especially in their attempt to marry a jazz-rock instrumental approach to traditional Balkan sounds. Stefanovski was always considered one of the best guitarist of the former Yugoslavia; his technique is quite similar to Allan Holdsworth's or John McLaughlin's. Arsovski was on the other hand a champion of fretless bass playing. Leb i Sol recorded their last studio album Putujemo in 1989, and a live concert CD Live in New York in 1991. They played their farewell concert in Thessalonica, Greece, December 1995, after which they disbanded. Stefanovski and Arsovski founded their private label, Third Ear Music, in 1990, and continued with successful solo careers. In May 2006 the band announced their reunion. They released a live concert DVD Leb i Sol Live in Macedonia in 2006, and a new album in 2008 called I Taka Natanaka. *Official Web-site