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The Forkolor Saxophone Quartet was awarded by the Berlin Culture Senate with the "Jazz Studio Project Award 2011" and will begin the recordings of its first CD in the fall of 2011.
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Vladimir Karparov is an official endorser of the P.Mauriat saxophones

test review:
" I am very happy that finally I found my dream tenor saxophone, the P. Mauriat 66R. It sounds extremely voluminous and juicy. This saxophone has both depth and warmth, brightness and clarity of the tone, perfect intonation and incredible wide dynamic range. The mechanics is quite comfortable and the response of the instrument is easy and free. This makes it universally applicable for jazz, pop and classical music, as well as for the Balkan folk music, which necessarily requires a speed and ease of the instrument. I needed only one week to get completely used with my new PMXT-66R and I even composed some new melodies, while practicing on it. It's a very good sign for me, when an instrument makes me to be creative! Even with a bad reed this sax sounds very good. Sometimes this is crucial during a performance.
A bulgarian dealer of music instruments told me something quite meaningful about the P.Mauriat saxophones: "They are expensive for amateurs and cheap for professionals." I think that's the secret of the success of these instruments. Each beginner would be much more motivated by playing a P.Mauriat instrument than some very cheap one. Otherwise, it's quite possible, if he starts playing some very cheap saxophone, soon after that just to give up playing. Then, of course, appears the problem that he'll not be able to sell it to anybody. As people say: at the end of the day, cheaps things always turn out to be expensive. In contrast to that, a P.Mauriat instrument absolutely retains its value. That's why it's a very good investment. Regarding a professional saxophonist: I think he doesn't has to spend all his life looking for the "dream vintage instrument", to pay quite a lot of money and still to make compromises with many of the characteristics of this kind of instruments. For about the half of the price of a good vintage instrument he would get a great quality of sound, perfect intonation and mechanics, just buying a new P.Mauriat saxophone. And something more- the P.Mauriat instruments have a soul, that's what music is about! "


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In November 2009 Vladimir Karparov started a new project - the Forkolor saxophone quartet with Katherina Thomsen- bari sax, Florian Trübsbach- alto & sopr. sax, André Cimiotti-alto sax and Vladimir Karparov- tenor sax.
The band played a couple of concerts in Bulgaria, organised by Goethe Institut. Forkolor is planning to record its first CD in 2010. For more information, music and video clips chick on myspace.com/forkolor.
Das „FORKOLOR“ Saxophon Quartett besteht aus den drei jungen deutschen Musikern Katharina Thomsen, Florian Trübsbach, André Cimiotti und dem in Berlin lebenden bulgarischen Saxophonisten Vladimir Karparov. Jeder von den vier Musikern wirkt mit seinem originellen musikalischen Charakter für den einzigartigen Klang des Saxophon Ensembles. Das Repertoire von dem Quartett besteht vor allem aus eigenen Kompositionen der vier Saxophonisten, sowie Arrangements und Kompositionen aus dem Weltrepertoire für Saxophon Quartett. Die vier Musiker haben in den letzten Jahren in verschiedenen Musikprojekten zusammen gespielt und im 2009 das „Forkolor“ Saxophon Quartett gegründet.



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Vladimir Karparov's debut album "Thracian Dance"
was released in 2008 by Meta Records
   1 Thracian Dance 06:51

   2 Vine Leaves 07:49

   3 Tangra 05:07

   4 Ulitzata 05:15

   5 Kreuzberg CueCheck 07:01

   6 Song for N 05:37

   7 Gipsy Smile 04:30

   8 Apollonia 05:29

   9 Take Five 07:53

   10 Hle Hle 06:26

   11 Na Mama 05:03


Grego Applegate Edwards/ Cadence Magazine New York, apr-may-june 2009

A native of Sofia, Bulgaria, Vladimir Karparov has played in various configurations and projects since his graduation from Berlin’s Hochschule für Musik in 1995. Thracian Dance is his first CD as leader. The influence of Bulgarian folk music is strong, yet incorporated skillfully into a contemporary mix.
Through the entire CD there is a high level of musical sense. Anyone who appreciates Milcho Leviev and his Bulgarian folk-inspired odd-metered music (for example as with Don Ellis and/or Billy Cobham) will find a new voice and extension of such ideas in the music here. Karparov’s tenor and soprano are formidable vehicles in the expression of that style- he is both technically adept and musically intelligent with fabulous tone on both axes. The rhythm section of von der Goltz, Nonnemacher, and Christides adds much to the disk and forms a sympathetic team for the expression of Karparov’s concepts. Finally, guest appearances of some very accomplished, very interesting traditional Bulgarian-roots musicians give additional sparkle to this set.
Turn to the opening “Thracian Dance” and its Latin-ish groove with an elaborate Folk music line on top for a good representation of what’s on the disk. Some nice kaval (an indigenous flute) by Nedyalkov blends with tenor for the melody. The kaval solo displays Nedyalkov’s very airy sound. He plays some interesting lines. Folk elements and contemporary improv join hands in a series of phrases that highlight rapid triplet figures. Then it’s Vlad on tenor with a bracing robustness, mixing a Folk approach with a modalbluesy tonality. An energetic and musically skillful drum solo from Christides caps off the performance.
Listen to “Vine Leaves” for some good soprano from Karparov. He phrases confidently with lines that have no cliché component. They do have some of the flourish and grace notes of native Bulgaria. Tupan hand drumming and tenor come to the forefront in “Tangra” with more of the notey Bulgarian folksiness. There’s a seamless transformation of the style from native winds to modern hard-edged tenor. Bulgarian Funk in eleven is what “Ulitzata” is all about. On “Kreuzberg CueCheck,” the gadulka, a stringed instrument in the violin family, enters the mix and the player Peyo Peev duets well with Vlad (soprano) on the head then solos over a dance rhythm. On “Song for N” there are tenor effusions that seem to come effortlessly off Karparov’s fingers yet have real musical resonance. Going from there, Vlad’s liquid-toned soprano holds forth on “Apollonia” with a ravishing solo that has momentum and absolute beauty.
Were Paul Desmond around today, I’m sure he would get a kick out of their version of “Take Five,” which goes into a straight eight Bulgarian embellished version of the tune, with Vlad’s tenor launching sixteenth note barrages that wail.
Thracian Dance shows Karparov to be a major figure in combining European (Bulgarian) tradition and edgy contemporary Jazz. He’s a hell of an instrumentalist, writes very interesting music, and gets the most out of some excellent players. I highly recommend this one as more than just a change of pace. It sets its own pace. And it has an exuberant joy to it that just might give you a big smile as you listen.




Vladimir Karparov-saxophone
Christian von der Goltz- clavia nord stage
Horst Nonnenmacher- double bass
Dimitris Christides- drums
Stoyan Yankoulov- tupan
Nedyalko Nedyalkov- kaval
Peyo Peev-gadulka
Martin Lubenov-accordion
Alexey Wagner- guitar

Here you can order the CD for 15€ (including shipping costs)



Milcho Leviev:

I've had the pleasure working with Vladimir Karparov on numerous occasions. Vlado is an extremely gifted,versatile, and original musician, and a master saxophone virtuoso. In today's "Play It Safe" situation of the "music industry", daring artists are a rarity. Karparov is one of them. He searches and experiments fusing different folk idioms with sophisticated modal contemporary jazz very successfully. This is evident immediately from the opening Latino- Thracian groove, through the fantastic Dionysus-Bacchussian duo "Tangra" with Stoyan Yankoulov,the down-home gypsy mood of "Kreuzberg..." (notable solo gadulka by Peyo Peev), the thoughtful improvised monolog in front of the beautiful ballad "Song for N", the "Gipsy Smile's virtuosity of both Vlado and Martin Lubenov on accordion, the dark-humored "Take Five", and ending with a heart-warming duo (Alexey Wagner on guitar),dedication to his mother, Vladimir Karparov makes strong statements while entertaining. As Don Ellis used to say: "First experiment, then entertain" The ensemble work of the album is remarkable due to the fine and tasty rhythm section, Christian von der Goltz(p), Horst Nonnemacher (b), Dimitris Christides (dr)

 
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