Theodosii Spassov – Kaval (Bulgarian wooden flute)
The Grammy Winner (with Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, 1994) Theodosii Spassov was born on March 4th, 1961. He began his early training on the kaval at the Kotel Music School and The Academy of Music and Dance in Plovdiv/Bulgaria. The kaval, an eight-holes wooden “shepherd” flute, is one of the oldest instruments in Europe, rich in tone and technical possibilities. Theodosii Spassov has developed his own unique style of playing the instrument by synthesising traditional folklore with jazz, fusion and classical music.
For over 20 years Theodosii has toured all over Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Canada and United States. In 1994, his performance with Sofia Women’s Radio Choir was awarded with a Grammy award for Le Myst?re Des Voix Bulgares. In April of 1995, Newsweek magazine recognised Theodosii Spassov as one of the most talented Eastern-European musicians in its “best of the East” article, noting that “Spassov… is not merely surviving the post-communist cultural wasteland. He has actually invented a new musical genre.”
Theodosii Spassov has contributed to 20 CDs, four of his own, which have been noted worldwide. He has composed and performed numerous film scores including a French-Bulgarian feature film Granitza, (The Border) 1993. Besides, he recorded themes for films by Italian composers Carlos Siliotto and Ennio Morricone, entitled An Italian Story and The Breakout of the Innocent. At the fourth European Jazz Night, Theodosii Spassov was a featured performer along with other jazz musicians, including Wynton Marsalis.
At home in Bulgaria, Theodosii Spassov is a national figure and a musical hero, and was recently honoured with the Music Artist of the Year award. He is the Artistic Director of the world-renown Philip Koutev Ensemble Of Music, Drama And Dance.
He has played with Jazz Linia, Le Myst?re des Voix Bulgares, Trio Bulgarka, National Radio Sofia Orchestras, Ivo Papazov, Yldiz Ibrahimova, Vesselin Nikolov, Milcho Leviev, Acoustic Version, Dave Liebman, Dimitrios Vassilakis, Andy Sheppard, Jamey Haddad, Albert Mangelsdorf, Mark Johnson, Trilok Gurtu, Kazumi Watanabe, Glen Velez, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Matt Darriau, Boyan Zulfikarpasic, Dionisis Savopulos, Paul McCandless, Glen Moore, Billy Cobham, Ennio Morricone, The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, the Leipzig Radio Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra.
With his trio, Theodosii Spassov performed in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, Greece, Holland, India, Israel, Japan, Nepal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the U.K., the U.S. and of course in Bulgaria. The last performances of the trio occurred in a Japan tour in 2009.
