Balkan music has long exerted an influence on jazz, and the traffic runs in both directions on the evidence of this Amsterdam based sextet. Jazzanitza's roots are in Sofia where saxophonist Dimitar Liolev and drummer Borislav Petrov met while playing in folk bands before both moving to The Netherlands to study in 2002. The spirit of enquiry has continued and they have fashioned something personal from elements of Bulgarian folk melody and dance rhythms coupled to firm roots in jazz. Their partnership has blossomed, and now includes The Modern Balkan Jazz Orchestra, conceivably the world's first large ensemble devoted to the idiom. With Jazzanitza, the references are closer to a Blakeyesque hard bop sextet, albeit one with an addictive Balkan twist, and they're joined by fellow Bulgarian trumpeter Raya Hadzhieva, Polish bassist Maciej Domaradzki and Dutchmen Tony Roe (piano) and Ben Van Gelder (saxophone).