Awakening Saso Popovski

• 1 22 Days to Spring 06:30
• 2 Roads 06:30
• 3 Awakening 04:20
• 4 Point Blues 04:20
• 5 Lost in Shanghai 07:46
• 6 Fuente de la Salud 05:40
• 7 Dear Ron 06:15
• 8 Going Home 04:50
• 9 Elevator Waltz 04:40
• Total Runtime 50:51

Info for Awakening

On his second album for the French label Art Melodies, guitarist and composer Saso Popovski presents his new work named Awakening. More than just an album title, Awakening is a reflection of personal and musical transformation.

Created during a year of movement, introspection, and emotional depth, this new release captures a vivid portrait of a life in motion. Each composition is rooted in real experience, forming a cohesive narrative that’s both intimate and expansive.

The album opens with 22 Days to Spring, a contemplative piece that evokes the final stretch of winter. Its gentle melancholy and slow unfolding mirror the emotional texture of waiting—for warmth, for change, for light.

From there, Roads dives into the life of a touring musician—one filled with constant travel, fleeting encounters, and moments of quiet reflection between destinations. It's a story of connection and isolation, of friendships built on the move.

The title track, Awakening, marks a turning point. It represents a creative renewal for Popovski—a freer, more open, and personal approach to contemporary jazz, rooted in emotional honesty and sonic exploration.

Point Blues, a contribution from Jaume Miguel, channels the expressive soul of Charles Mingus, adding a raw, dynamic energy to the album’s flow.

Lost in Shanghai is based on a real event: Popovski’s experience of getting lost in the vast urban maze of Shanghai for over two hours. The piece captures the surreal beauty, cinematic moments, and quiet disorientation of that journey—a sonic snapshot of awe and wandering.

Also composed by Jaume Miguel, Fuente de la Salud brings rhythmic balance and tonal contrast, adding freshness and vitality to the album’s overall atmosphere.

Dear Ron is a deeply personal tribute to the late trumpet legend Ron Miles. Influenced by Miles' lyrical sensitivity and humility, the piece is both farewell and celebration—a heartfelt thank-you through music.

Going Home captures the universal longing shared by musicians on the road: the pull toward stillness, rest, and return—not just to a physical place, but to oneself.

The closing track, Elevator Waltz, brings a whimsical and unexpected twist. Built around the four-note musical motif played in every elevator across Shanghai when the doors open and close, the piece turns a strange and ubiquitous sound into a playful, jazz-infused reflection. “It’s kind of crazy,” Popovski notes, “but that melody really stuck with me.”

Together, the compositions on Awakening offer a deeply human, modern jazz experience—shaped by cities, memory, movement, and quiet transformation. It is a work of honest reflection and subtle power, signaling a new chapter in Saso Popovski’s evolving artistry.

Saso Popovski, guitar
Jaume Miquel, piano
Eric Kopetz, double bass
Cote Calmet, drums & percussion

Recorded from 10 to 12 March, 2025 by Cote Calmet at The Drum Hub Studio, Granada, Spain
Mixed by Cote Calmet and Saso Popovski
Mastered by Cote Calmet at The Drum Hub Studio, Granada, Spain
Produced by Saso Popovski

Saso Popovski
is a Macedonian jazz guitarist and composer known for blending Balkan soul, Eastern melodic traditions, and contemporary jazz. With a signature style that’s both lyrical and exploratory, his music bridges introspection and rhythmic vitality. Popovski has performed across Europe—from Skopje Jazz Festival to Budapest Jazz Club—and collaborates with musicians across borders. He is a professor in the Jazz Department at Goce Delčev University in Štip.

Following his acclaimed debut Steps (2023) on the French label Art Melodies, Popovski returns with Awakening (out August 12, 2025). More than just a title, Awakening reflects a year of movement, introspection, and personal transformation. Each composition tells a story—from the wintery stillness of 22 Days to Spring, to the surreal disorientation of Lost in Shanghai, and the lyrical tribute Dear Ron, honoring trumpet legend Ron Miles.

Popovski’s sound is both grounded and expansive—modern, emotional, and deeply human.

“Balkan jazz has a modern soul.” – Mario Ferraioli Jazz In Family Italy

In 2021, the album Fallen Land finished first on the regional jazz scene of HRT Croatia’s Jazzolovka show and was the album of the week in Bulgaria, Serbia, Poland and Macedonia.

Saso Popovski is member of Art Melodies composers society.

This album contains no booklet.