53rd LJUBLJANA JAZZ FESTIVAL

 

Interview with Nenah Cherry

By Andraž Jež and CD team

 

The 53rd Ljubljana Jazz Festival is commencing today; join us on this uplifting journey that will elevate listeners among the brightest stars in the night sky, invigorate with fresh breeze of the broadest horizons and inspire with vibrant and variegated jazz.

Why not embark on this intrepid jazzy adventure!

 

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 Kaja Draksler solo

 

After appearing with her quintet within the scope of 13 Points Plus and performing with Jure Pukl’s quartet on Friday, Kaja Draksler gave a solo piano recital yesterday that offered an insight into this composer and improviser’s broad emotional horizons. More->

 

 

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Lama

 

Finding ground in the cross-section of re-invented traditional jazz idioms and innovation intrinsic to jazz since the 1970s, the Portuguese-Canadian trio Lama performed soon after the concert by Kaja Draksler. Susana Santos Silva’s charismatic trumpet playing was characterised by absence of conventional jazz patterns, while drummer Greg Smith and double bass player Gonçalo Almeida journeyed between recognizable patterns and contemporary departures into atonality and electroacoustic soundscapes. More->

 

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Trumpet and Drums feat. Peter Evans, trobenta; Nate Wooley, trobenta; Jim Black, bobni; Paul Lytton, bobni

 

The last of the performers to appear under the auspices of Pedro Costa’s Clean Feed label was Trumpet and Drums. Four outstanding musicians ventured into dense sonic expanses facilitated by the broad dimensions of trumpet and drums. More->

 

 

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Ibrahim Maalouf Diagnostic

 

The promising Lebanese-French trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf (whose famous uncle is Amin Maalouf) performed yesterday soon after 20.00. Elegantly blending jazz and elements of funk, rock and Eastern timbres, the virtuoso was accompanied by a congenial combination of musicians.  More->

 

 

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Neneh Cherry & The Thing

 

One of the two central events of Saturday’s programme at the Križanke open-air theatre featured the charming and versatile Neneh Cherry, who has garnered acclaim in the field of jazz as well as popular urban music. This time Cherry teamed up with Swedish band The Thing, named after a composition by the singer’s legendary stepfather Don.  More->

 

 

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John Scofield Hollowbody Band

 

The last of the stars of yesterday’s night sky at the Križanke open-air theatre were the legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield and his Hollowbody Band. Scofield, who in 2006 performed at the Ljubljana Jazz Festival with Medeski, Martin & Wood, this time solicited the help of guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel. More->