KULTURA / CULTURE
BELGRADE JAZZ FESTIVAL ALL THAT WONDERFUL JAZZ
We are awaited from 24 th to 28 th October by the performances of famous jazz musicians from the country and around the world, but also the evoking of memories of significant moments in the history of this festival that’s celebrating its 40 th birthday
mous Newport Jazz Festival. Among that inaugural edition’s participants were Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Ornette Coleman and Miles Davis, which served to im- mediately secure Belgrade’s spot as an important place on the jazz map of Europe. It was held in continui- ty for two decades, presenting nu- merous international and domestic stars. Following a 15-year hiatus, it was renewed in 2005, only for the City of Belgrade to declare it an event of special cultural importance just two years later. This festival has a stylistically diverse programme, ranging from traditional to avant-garde, togeth- er with the numerous sub-genres that characterise today’s jazz junc- ture. An emphasis is placed on art- ists of the younger and middle gen- erations, which is also reflected in the audience that’s among the youngest in the world of jazz fes- tivals. In terms of programming, the Belgrade festival strives to be bold, intriguing, fresh and uncom- promising, revealing the best of contemporary jazz from all cor- ners of the world. It additionally strives to serve as the best launch- pad for Serbia’s talented emerg- ing artists.
THE BELGRADE JAZZ FES- TIVAL, Serbia’s oldest and most in- ternationally renowned jazz event, is celebrating its 40 th birthday! This rare jubilee, even on the world stage, will be marked by an ambitious con- cert programme tailored to lovers of high-quality music, organised by Bel- grade’s Dom Omladine Youth Cen- tre, under the patronage of the City of Belgrade. Programme highlights The ceremonial 24 th October opening of the festival will be marked by the performance of the RTS Big Band and respected conductor, pia- nist and arranger Alan Broadbent, with a programme entitled “From Newport to Belgrade”, which has been conceived as a great celebration of the festival’s glorious history, in the spir- it of this year’s slogan: Jazz Legacy. We will hear Broadbent’s original ar- rangements of compositions by Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk and Char- lie Haden, as well as works inspired by Newport and the legacy of Dizzy Gillespie. That same evening will see
the premiere Belgrade performance of the world’s leading contemporary jazz vocalist: French-American diva Cécile McLorin Salvant, a winner of three consecutive Grammy Awards for best jazz vocal album. This year’s gathering of grand- masters of jazz will be completed with a major debut performance - Bill Frisell is finally coming to Serbia. Together with John Scofield and Pat Metheny – who has previously pre- sented himself to the Belgrade Jazz Festival audience – Frisell has been part of a golden guitar trio since the 1980s; a trio that has taken the top spots in the world’s most prestigious jazz surveys for years. The festival’s fi- nal 28 th October concert will be per- formed by the Buena Vista All Stars, with the programme “One night in Havana”. This ensemble is led by Ibra- him Ferrer Jr., while the repertoire will include famous tracks from the album Buena Vista Social Club. How it all began The Belgrade Jazz Festival was born in 1971, as an affiliate of the fa-
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