The programme is the brainchild of Cankarjev dom’s art directors, Borja Močnik and Bogdan Benigar. This year, the central theme was diversity from all over, offering something for every generation. During the festival, there were 27 concerts featuring musicians from 18 countries. The artists came from Slovenia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Great Britain and the US.
Bogdan Benigar, the festival director, said: “Jazz Festival Ljubljana is not only for jazz lovers, but all who cherish good music and even those who only occasionally listen to jazz. The festival is, above all, a celebration and get-together event.”
Diversity From All Over
The concerts took place across several venues; some lit up the stages of Cankarjev dom and others the Council of Europe Park. After a few years, one of the venues was again the Križanke Summer Theatre, where the world-famous British musician Benjamin Clementine kicked off the festival. The festival headlined Clementine as a self-made avant-garde pop artist. His performance amazed the packed audience in attendance. Borja Močnik described him as an extraordinary artist and performer. For his show in Ljubljana, he wished to perform with five Slovenian string players.
The pre-festival happenings kicked off well before the official opening with the inauguration of a photo exhibition by Nika Hölcl Praper titled Everydayness. The exhibition was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Slovenian musician Zlatko Kaučič. The exhibition was complemented by a free concert at Club CD by composer Domen Cizej. The festival is a springboard for young musicians, who took the stage in the Council of Europe Park as part of two initiatives.
Ahead of the festival, Benigar and Močnik, who curated the programme, said: “We continue to pursue an approach that, through manifestations of contemporary music practices in jazz and beyond, serves to build a community – both a music community and one bonded through music. With, as always, some new features. Ties will again be strengthened across artificially-mapped national borders through collaborations between foreign and national artists. This year’s programme is oriented towards the future: with artists embodying some of the most exciting elements of global music using a rich variety of musical idioms in different – more or less classic – contexts. Jazz is more than jazz.”
If you missed the festival this year, you are invited to Ljubljana next summer. Find out more about the programme at: https://ljubljanajazz.si/index.php/en/.
