With the concerts of Ana Popović and Vladimir Nikolov, the 42nd Belgrade Jazz Festival, our oldest and most internationally recognized jazz event, begins tonight (October 21) in the Youth Center of Belgrade.
In the Great Hall, Vladimir Nikolov will present the world premiere of the "History Now" project from 19 p.m., while at 21 p.m. Ana Popović, an internationally recognized blues guitarist and singer, will perform.
This is the first time that the Jazz Festival starts with a blues concert.
Ana Popovic
Ana Popović won ten nominations for the "Blues Award" (Oscar in the blues community), was the headliner of the world's leading blues festivals and the face of prestigious blues and guitar magazines.
Photo: common.wikimediaAna Popovic
This year, Ana Popović celebrates her 50th birthday and a quarter of a century since her solo debut "Hush", and the Belgrade blues scene celebrates her 45th birthday. It is also interesting that she had her first big performances in the Youth Center, in the legendary club St. James and at Marsoni Blues Fest - exactly 30 years ago.
The concert at the opening of the 42nd BDŽF will evoke memories of editions from the seventies, when numerous blues greats were presented - BB King, Muddy Waters, Albert King, Memphis Slim...
Vladimir Nikolov's concert is the world premiere of "History Now". The music of his nonet draws inspiration from the rich history of jazz, interpreting it in the language of this time.
13 concerts on the program
Until October 24, there will be 13 concerts of prominent world artists at the Jazz Festival with a final jam session. As many as 12 ensembles are performing at the BDŽF for the first time.
From the American scene comes trumpeter Rob Mazurek in the "Chicago Underground Duo" project, with drummer Chad Taylor, then Marquis Hill, laureate of the "Thelonious Monk" competition and the greatest talent among trumpeters in DownBeat 2016, and violinist Arun Ramamurthy's trio, which achieves a hypnotic combination of South Indian Carnatic tradition and fusion.
As usual, the European election brings "the best of the best". Saxophonist Tino Tracana presents the best jazz album in Italy according to critics (Top Jazz award) - "Panorchestra". The six-piece brass octet mixes New Orleans tradition with Italian musical romance, organically merging distant worlds.
Europe is also represented by the duo of Spanish pianist Daniel Garcia and Swiss vocalist Andreas Scherer; pianist Joao Paulo Esteves da Silva and his quartet will present the second-placed edition in Portugal 2025, "País Distante", and the greatest talents of Polish jazz will also perform: the Michał Modrzyński Trio and the JuMa quartet.
Serbian scene
A selection from the Serbian jazz scene brings encounters with leading players of the middle and younger generation.
Trumpeter Ivan Radivojević premieres the complete content of the second album "Not Quite Sun, Not Quite the Moon", a fusion of contemporary New York with Scandinavian melancholy. The young baritone saxophonist Đorđe Kujundžić mixes Latin rhythms with blues, Balkan folklore, and the cabaret spirit of Weil and Waits in his music.
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