Koran Agan

Ever since he made New York City his home in 2005, Koran became one of the busiest guitarists on the scene. In addition to performing almost every night as a sideman and with his own projects locally, his music also took him all over the United States and Europe. While on the road he performed in all types of venues; from a small hidden pub in London, England, Al Capone era speakeasies in downtown Chicago, to many concert halls and renown music festivals. In all the different places he met audiences with different backgrounds who shared the same intense passion for music. And the music itself is eclectic, just like the one he heard growing up in the Balkans; south of where sad and haunting lullabies are sung to little children and just north of the Adriatic shore where fishermen harmonize ballads in a major key. After hearing him play, people are very quick to point out his slavic roots which subtly come across in his unique style. They are also surprised by his in depth familiarity with the language of jazz music which he absorbed while trying to emulate his american heroes; Diz and Bird, Miles and Trane and of course all the great guitar players; everyone from Charlie Christian to Wes Montgomery and the list goes on. But the biggest influence of course is Django Reinhardt. A gypsy guitarist who redefined the role of guitar and became one of the most important jazz musicians of the 30’s and 40’s. When asked about Django’s influence, Koran says: I always knew that I need to study Django. Playing jazz music side by side with horn and piano players, which in a way was written for a saxophone or piano, always made me feel as if I was invading a foreign territory. And yes, there is an exciting side to it, but it was clear to me that if I want to master my instrument I’ll need to spend some time with a musical setting in which guitar plays the leading role. But in his search Koran found more than technical aspects of music. He rediscovered the true genius of Django Reinhardt and as he continued to dig trough the gypsy’s background, recognized his own roots. It was a full circle. In summer of 2010 a Chicago based producer Boris Strepacki introduced Koran, who at the time was touring with Stephane Wrembel’s The Django Experiment, to a Hungarian gypsy violinist Tony Ballog. The meeting in which both musicians instantly recognized special connection resulted in a collaboration which gave birth to the CD ‘One For The Road.‘ As soon I heard Tony play just two notes I knew that this is not going to be another jazz recording date. I knew that something different is going to take place. As I watched him play it was clear to me that this guy didn’t show up to do a gig, he came to have some fun! So I jumped right in. Captured performance, comprised of traditional songs played by gypsy musicians across Europe and some early jazz standards, was raw in its delivery, free of pretense and bursting with kind of energy that one can hear when old friends play for each other. Some of the venues in which Koran performed for the past years include: Joe’s Pub Public Theater, Bowery Ballroom, Smalls Jazz Club, as well as Rochester International Jazz Festival, Burlington Jazz Festival, Django Reinhardt Northwest Festival, Django A Go-Go New York City Festival. Koran performed and/or recorded with Stephane Wrembel, Sebastien Felix, Adrien Moignard, Benoit Convert, Biel Ballester, gypsy guitarist and a cultural attache of the romany people in the central Europe Maie Bittel, Hungarian gypsy violinist Tony Bellog, members of the Hot Club Of Detroit Evan Perri and Paul Brady, among others.