Faton Macula | |
---|---|
Born | 1979 Mitrovica, Kosovo |
Origin | Republic of Kosovo |
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation | Guitarist |
Instrument | Guitar |
Years active | 1996–present |
Labels | Musik Garden |
Website | www |
Faton Macula is a Kosovo-born Albanian Jazz guitarist. Faton currently lives in New York City. [1]
Faton Macula was born in Mitrovica, Kosovo. His first guitar was given to him by his father at the age of 8. His father was the main person that brought him into jazz. His parents after noticing his interest in the guitar, arranged for him to study in a classical music school in Mitrovica with the teacher Petar Rakic. And while studying he also played with various rock bands from all over Kosovo. By the age of 15, his teacher showed him some records of George Benson and Joe Pass which Faton really liked. From that moment his musical direction was given. Two years later he enrolled at the "Hochschule für Musik & Darstellende Kunst"in Graz, Austria. [1]
As of 2012, Faton is married to Claudia Cruz and they have a daughter called Iman. [2]
Faton has had the opportunity to study and to play with great musicians like Harry Pepl, Wayne Brasel, Ewald Oberleitner, Stjepko Gut, Dusko Goikivic, Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan, Jay Clayton and Bill Dobbins. Each one of these musicians helped him in his learning process of the necessary vocabulary of jazz guitar and music in its general aspects.
In 1998, at age 19, he recorded his first Jazz album under the record label "Musik Garden" called I remember you in Graz, Austria. [1]
In the year 2000 he returned to Pristina, Kosovo, where he recorded and released his pop album Telat (English: strings). The eponymous single of the album went on to become a #1 Hit in Kosovo.
In 2002 he was invited by his friend and mentor Mark Whitfield to New York City to continue to further expand his career. Together with Whitfield's help and Faton's hard work he had the opportunity to record and perform with Jazz and pop artists such as Marc Anthony, Shakira, Faith Hill, Missy Elliott, Carl Thomas, Gladys Knight, Mary J. Blige, James Genus, Gregory Hutchinson, Dave Kikoski, Donald Edwards, Mark Whitfield, Jim Pryor, Ravi Coltrane, Allan Harris and many more. [3]
Faton continues to perform, record and teach guitar in New York City, and is about to release his third album titled "IMAN", a mix of jazz, R&B and Neo-Soul, which features new upcoming artists such as Father Dude, Kofi Black, Ja'Shayla, Shanelle Gabrielle, Sadiya Rock and Fritz Jerey, as well as a duet with Mark Whitfield. [2]
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for his unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and for his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a distinctive sound.
Mitrovica, also referred to as South Mitrovica, is a city in northern Kosovo and administrative center of the District of Mitrovica. In 2013, the city was split into two municipalities, South Mitrovica and North Mitrovica. Settled 10 km (6.2 mi) from Ujmani/Gazivoda Lake, on the confluence of the rivers Ibër, Sitnicë, Lushta, and Trepça, the city is surrounded by the mountains of Kopaonik, Rogozna, Mokna, and Çyçavica. According to the 2011 Census, the two municipalities had 97,686 inhabitants of which 85,360 reside in south and 12,326 in north.
Isa Boletini was an Albanian revolutionary commander and politician and rilindas from Kosovo.
Music of Kosovo is music that originates from Kosovo, a country in the Balkans. Kosovo's population is mainly Kosovo Albanians, also known as Kosovars, and there are various minority ethnic groups as well. Kosovan music is closely related to that of neighbouring Albania, as well as to that of countries in the former Yugoslavia.
Michael Mantler is an Austrian avant-garde jazz trumpeter and composer of contemporary music.
Juan Garcia-Herreros, also known as "The Snow Owl", is a Colombian bassist who plays a custom six-string electric contrabass guitar.
Bernhard Lang is an Austrian composer, improviser and programmer of musical patches and applications. His work can be described as contemporary classical, with roots, however, in various genres such as 20th-century avant-garde, European classical music, jazz, free jazz, rock, punk, techno, EDM, electronica, electronic music, and computer-generated music. His works range from solo pieces and chamber music to large ensemble pieces and works for orchestra and musical theatre. Besides music for concert halls, Lang designs sound and music for theatre, dance, film and sound installations.
Xhafer Deva was a fascist Kosovo Albanian politician during World War II. A notable local politician in Kosovo and in Axis-occupied Albania, he took charge of German-occupied Mitrovica and worked with the Germans to establish a pro-German Albanian government in Kosovo. Following the capitulation of Italy from the war, he helped form a provisional government under German occupation and set up the Second League of Prizren alongside other Albanian nationalists.
Albanian rock describes music in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and other Albanian-inhabited areas closely related to western rock. It has a wide variety of subgenres like pop rock, alternative rock, hard rock and metal.
Elina Duni is a Swiss-Albanian jazz singer and composer. She left Albania at the age of ten to live and study in Geneva, Switzerland. She went on to study singing, composition and teaching at the University of the Arts Bern, but from 2004 onwards Albanian folk music became a prime influence. At this moment, in 2004, she formed a quartet under her own name with the Swiss jazz pianist Colin Vallon, bassist Patrice Moret and drummer Norbert Pfammatter. In a review, John Fordham concluded that "This quartet definitely sounds like rising star material for ECM." After two albums – Baresha (2008) and Lume Lume (2010) – on Meta Records, the quartet went on to record for ECM in 2012, with Matanë Malit and in 2015, Dallëndyshe (Swallow). In 2014, she released her first album as a singer-songwriter in Kosovo and Albania, entitled Muza e Zezë. In 2017, she was nominated to receive the annual Swiss Music Prize and in 2018 she released the album Partir, a solo programme in which she accompanies herself on piano, acoustic guitar and percussion. The album features traditional folksong from across the globe, sung in 9 different languages.
Rona Nishliu is a Kosovo-Albanian singer and songwriter. She came to international prominence after representing Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where she placed fifth and achieved the best placement for Albania to date.
Classical music in Kosovo refers to the art music cultivated in Kosovo. The roots of classical music in Kosovo are found in the 1940s and include the time period from the times when Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia to this day. It can be said that there is a tradition of classical music in Kosovo, however, compared to other Balkan countries and especially European countries this tradition is younger. Classical music in Kosovo reaches back about 70 years. Even though in a short period of time, this music has evolved, passing through generations of composers and artists. In his book Albanian: Zhvillimi i stileve në veprat e kompozitorëve shqiptarë të Kosovës, Engjëll Berisha comments:
The diversity of styles in Albanian music [of Kosovo], its national patterns with sound idea-aesthetic foundations are a characteristic of the European musical reality, so many many works are of interest abroad, too, because during this relatively short period Albanian classical music in Kosovo has compensated for the delay in its development.
Adam Rafferty is a guitarist and composer. He is known for his arrangements of pop songs by Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, and the Beatles and for the use of beatboxing while playing guitar.
Emin Xhinovci is a retired Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) insurgent and restaurant owner from Mitrovica known for his striking resemblance to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Donis Xhemë Avdijaj is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Austrian Bundesliga club TSV Hartberg. Born in Germany, he represented the Kosovo national team.
Rexhep Krasniqi was an Albanian-American historian, teacher, nationalist, and anti-communist politician and activist. A Kosovar Albanian, he is remembered for his role in the Second League of Prizren, and long time leadership of the "Free Albania" National Committee.
Oliver Ivanović was a Kosovo Serb politician.
Gerald Franz Preinfalk is an Austrian jazz and classical saxophonist and clarinetist.