The Jazz Fest Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Sarajevski džez festival'' / Сарајевски џез фестивал) is an international music festival held annually during the first week of November in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

and is the largest of its kind in Southeastern Europe. The Jazz Fest Sarajevo is an annual celebration of contemporary music based on jazz and improvised music, and it has been a regular attraction since 1997. The week-long event presents jazz musicians from 60 countries in over 300 concerts.

Background

"After all the huge amount of music and emotion experienced in Sarajevo, what is left is the sense of having lived through an intellectual adventure of the highest caliber. Kudos to Edin and his team for creating and keeping alive this festival in the most difficult conditions – we all may soon have to learn from them." –Francesco Martinelli for ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

'', November 2016. "Almost 21 years after the Dayton agreement Jazz Fest has managed to organize 20 festivals! Edin Zubčević and his staff not only deserve a culture prize but also the Nobel peace prize!" –Lars Mossefinn for salt-peanuts*, November 2016. Jazz Fest Sarajevo is an annual celebration of contemporary music based on jazz-related and

improvised music Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of immediate ("in the moment") musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous ...

. The festival program features well-known musicians from around the world but also invites new and prospective artists for performances in several venues around the city. In the past 20 years it has earned a

reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitous ...

of a trend setting international music festival in the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

region, with more than 770 artists, who have presented more than 270 different ensembles to audiences. Within its program, dedicated to offering audiences a relevant cross section of contemporary music, Jazz Fest has presented top artists in their field, rising stars and local talents every year anew, including many

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

s. At its 20th-

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

edition in 2016, it presented yet another European premiere –

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

's Bagatelles Marathon, presenting 11 ensembles with a stellar line up of Zorn's longtime collaborators from New York's downtown scene. With a growing local and international fan community which appreciates the festival's high production standards, diverse and adventurous programming and educational content for kids, young musicians and music students, Jazz Fest Sarajevo has become the most important musical event in the country, as well as an event of high cultural significance for its society. Jazz Fest Sarajevo is a member o
Europe Jazz Network
– the European family of organizers of artistic musical programs.

Live releases recorded at Jazz Fest Sarajevo

''Live in Sarajevo'' by Norwegian saxophonist, tenor and composer

Håkon Kornstad Håkon Games Kornstad (born 5 April 1977 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian jazz musician (tenor saxophone, bass saxophone, flute and live looping) and classically trained singer (tenor), known from bands such as Wibutee and Kornstad Trio, and co ...

is a recording of his solo performance held at 18th Jazz Fest Sarajevo 2014, released by Jazzland Recordings in 2015. The composition "Adhān" by

Arve Henriksen Arve Henriksen (born 22 March 1968) is a Norwegian trumpeter. Career Henriksen was born in Stranda and educated on the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium; he later studied music pedagogy, while he played in «Bodega Band» (1987� ...

from his album ''Places of Worship'', released by Runne Grammofon in 2013, is a field recording from his performance at 2nd Xenophonia in 2010. ''Live!'' by Bosnian vocalist Amira Medunjnanin was recorded in 2008 at 12th Jazz Fest Sarajevo and released by Gramofon the following year. ''Very Much Alive'' by Norwegian drummer

Paolo Vinaccia Paolo Vinaccia (Camerino, 27 March 1954 – Oslo, 5 July 2019) was an Italian jazz drummer who lived in Norway. He died on July 5, 2019 after almost ten years of living with pancreatic cancer. Career Vinaccia worked with Terje Rypdal, Bendik ...

, released by

Jazzland Recordings Jazzland Recordings is a Norwegian jazz and improvised music label based in Oslo, Norway, often associated with nu jazz. It was founded in 1996 by pianist Bugge Wesseltoft to release his "New Conception of Jazz" and operate as a standalone label. ...

in 2010, features a concert of the

Terje Rypdal Terje Rypdal (born 23 August 1947) is a Norwegian guitarist and composer. He has been an important member in the Norwegian jazz community, and has also given show concerts with guitarists Ronni Le Tekrø and Mads Eriksen as "N3". Career Rypdal ...

Trio held at 6th Jazz Fest Sarajevo 2002.

Concert links

The John Scofield Überjam Band''
concert
at 17th Jazz Fest Sarajevo 2013 Eivind Aarset Quartet''
concert
at 17th Jazz Fest Sarajevo 2013 David Gilmore & Art of Ascension Trio''
concert
at 17th Jazz Fest Sarajevo 2013 Dhafer Youssef performin
Odd Poetry
an
Aya1984
at 10th Jazz Fest Sarajevo 2006

Related events

Kid's Day is held traditionally on a Sunday, always the last festival day, when kids of age 3 to 12 have the chance to enjoy a concert with a repertoire of

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...

s rearranged especially for the occasion, followed by a

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

, "Meet the Instruments", where they prove, every year anew, that free chocolate and natural juices are the best fuel for uncontrolled music making. Music Meeting Sarajevo is an educational program for young musicians and music students from the

Western Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

region held within the festival program, offering its participants an opportunity to meet the festival's artists as well as a chance to perform within its Late Nite Stage program at jam sessions, while at the same time functioning as a successful platform for future collaborations among young musicians, who usually get only few chances to participate in similar events in a society marked by the Balkan wars in the 1990s. Xenophonia was initiated by Jazz Fest Sarajevo as a platform for

collaboration Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...

between local and international artists, with the aim to enable a way for Bosnian and Herzegovenian musicians to position themselves on the international music scene.

Visuals

In collaboration with numerous local

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

s, Jazz Fest Sarajevo has created a visual path of its own in the past two decades. Its posters have become collectors' items, earning JFS and its design partners many accolades, among them
Web Award
in 2011, for best web site national in the field of

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

and the Grand Prix Web of the Year Award. The famous, mouthles
Green Man
made an unforgettable impression on the posters of the 7th, 8th and 9th Jazz Fest Sarajevo in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and was proclaimed Jazz Fest Sarajevo's mascot by audiences who kept looking for it at festival editions that followed. The Norwegian light designer VJ Tord Knudsen repeatedly ensured a visual spectacle at multiple festival editions, making Jazz Fest Sarajevo concerts a full artistic experience for its audiences.

Personnel

Edin Zubčević –

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

and

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

Djana Karavdić – head of office Eric Bajramović – head of production Mina Maglić –

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

and assistance Including a small but prolific

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

of loyal Jazz Fest Sarajevo

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

experts and collaborators, who help to make each festival a memorable experience for everyone involved.

Past programs

References

"Sarajevo Jazz Festival 2016"
Francesco Martinelli.

. USA. November 18, 2016.
"The Times They Are A-Changin{{'"
Lars Mossefin. salt-peanuts*. Norway. November 7, 2016.
"Re-creation: Jazz as a tool for social cohesion Jazz Fest Sarajevo/Banlieus Bleus"
Fiona Goh. Strength in numbers 2, A study by Europe Jazz Network. 2016.

External links

Website

Xenophonia

Facebook

Europe Jazz Network
Annual events in Bosnia and Herzegovina Autumn events in Bosnia and Herzegovina Festivals in Sarajevo Jazz festivals in Bosnia and Herzegovina Tourist attractions in Sarajevo