A collection of unreleased jazz and electronica tracks from famous Yugoslavian and Croatian saxophonist Ozren Depolo. Compiled by Leri Ahel & Zeljko Luketic from original master tapes. Fox & His Friends label owners selected obscure themes for films, television and theatre from the vaults of Depolo's personal archive. In his musical peak, Depolo’s days were spent scoring films, while his nights were filled with recording sessions—often multiple in a single evening—where he served both as composer and performer. Despite severe sleep deprivation, he would reliably appear at early-morning rehearsals with the RTV Zagreb Dance Orchestra. All the material is previously unreleased and this is officially the first album that offers Ozren Depolo's compositions only. His creative output was so vast and fragmented that he kept little record of it. Once a job was completed, it was often filed away, forgotten, or left to languish in studio archives, sound libraries, or even discarded altogether. Many of his jazz compositions and arrangements for small ensembles were lost in this way, surviving only through recordings or handwritten manuscripts. Depolo rarely pursued opportunities to record original material, in part due to a general lack of interest among local publishers in jazz discography. Yet he was more than a gifted composer: he was also an accomplished saxophonist, clarinettist, flautist, pianist, arranger—and occasionally, a jazz journalist who contributed articles to specialised programmes on Radio Zagreb. Depolo also played in international big bands alongside jazz greats such as Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson and Gerry Mulligan, as well as in formations led by Bosko Petrovic—including the Nonconvertible All Stars and the B.P. Convention Big Band. He was a member of ensembles including The Alfi Kabiljo Orchestra, The Dragutin Diklic Ensemble, Jugoslovenska Pop Selekcija, The Stipica Kalogjera Octet, Václav Zahradník & His East All Stars Band and the Zagreb Jazz Quintet.
As both composer and arranger, he produced a significant body of work for large jazz orchestras and small ensembles. He was deeply engaged in jazz improvisation and avant-garde classical music, recording numerous chamber pieces for saxophone. A long-standing member of Acezantez, Zagreb’s renowned contemporary music ensemble, he also collaborated with international figures such as Ted Curson, John Lewis, Johnny Griffin, Art Farmer, Leo Wright, Art Taylor, Slide Hampton and Lucky Thompson. This selection also includes his collaboration with Igor Savin and jazz vocalist Zdenka Kovacicek who were played on Karl Lagerfeld's fashion shows.
