Slavo Rican Assembly Release Debut Album Intercosmic

Intercosmic (Riverboat Records) is the title of the debut album by Slavo Rican Assembly. The band is the project of New York City-based Slovenian saxophonist and composer Jan Kus.

The seven-piece band brings together the sounds of New York’s Latin jazz scene with Kus’ traditional South Slavic roots. Indeed, Slavo Rican Assembly perform bomba, salsa, rumba, Slovenian harvest songs, Bosnian lullabies and Serbian laments.

Kus first fell in love with Latin jazz as an undergrad studying music in the Netherlands. In 2012, Kus moved to New York to pursue a career as a working jazz musician. In New York City he discovered the city’s Hispanic/Latin heartbeat, and fell in love with the music of the Spanish Caribbean, especially Puerto Rico. Soon after, he was playing all over the city with acclaimed Latin jazz artists such as Fernando García, César Orozco, Luisito Quintero, Diego Obregón, and more.

The idea for the project started as a joke about Jan becoming “Puerto Rican by osmosis” and the group’s bassist, Dan Martínez becoming “Slavic by osmosis”, because of the musicians they regularly performed with. This concept was further reinforced by multiple tours of Puerto Rico and Slovenia.

At the heart of the Slavo Rican assembly project is the deep, collaborative friendship between Kus and bassist Dan Martinez. Martinez was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and has been playing professionally since the age of 17. While studying at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico he started taking double bass lessons and occasionally studying with bass legend Eddie Gomez. He arrived in New York City in 2011 — just one year before Kus — to pursue his Master degree in Jazz Performance, and soon garnered a reputation as a versatile, in-demand player, performing with many projects with artists from all over the world.

Dan has recorded and performed as a side man with artists like David Sanchez, Alex Sipiagin, Al Jarreau, Cheo Pardo, Randy Brecker, Ruben Blades and many more. The band is rounded out by vocalist Aleksandra Denda, Gabriel Vicéns on guitar, Ahmed Alom on piano and keyboards, Victor Pablo on congas and percussion, and Žan Tetičkovič on drums.

“The focus of Slavo Rican Assembly,” says Jan “is the exploration of the similarities and differences between the music of the Puerto Rican (and wider Spanish-speaking Caribbean) and South Slavic cultures, merging the two into a cohesive, brand-new sound.”

What makes this formula work in Jan’s opinion is “The emotional charge and spiritual depth that these musical traditions both possess.”

Buy Intercosmic