20th Jazz Fest Sarajevo 2016 audience will get the chance on 04 November at Bosanski kulturni centar, to attend the European premieres of John Zorn’s The Bagatelles program, the most ambitious project in the history of the festival.
The American composer, saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, producer and conductor will be performing for the first time in Sarajevo with the four-hour concert marathon titled John Zorn’s Bagatelles Marathon Sarajevo, which includes 11 ensembles consisting of different formations of 25 musicians from New York’s downtown scene, one of the most important places when it comes to improvised music.
The marathon will start at 19:00 and will be held in two parts (5 ensembles will perform during the first part, and 6 in the second), with a half-hour break. Each of the ensembles will perform a program of 15-20 minutes and the repertoire will consist of compositions Zorn has written from March to May 2015. World premiere of compositions from The Bagatelles program was held every Sunday between July 2015 and March 2016 in the New York club The Stone. The program was performed in Canada as well, while the European premiere will be held at the Jazz Fest in Sarajevo, whereas for example, the audience in Paris, will have the chance to watch the program next year only at the Philharmonie de Paris.
Aside as composer, Zorn will perform at the Sarajevo marathon as a saxophonist, leader of the famous quartet Masada which will open the marathon and have a world premiere performance of the Bagatelles in Sarajevo and as the conductor of the Asmodeus ensemble with Marc Ribot, Trevor Dunn and Kenny Grohowski, who will conclude this special program organized on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Jazz Fest.
In addition to the two mentioned ensembles, the audience will have the opportunity to listen to the guitar duet of Julian Lage and Gyan Riley, an exciting Nova Quartet, the recital of Sylvie Courvoisier and Mark Feldman, the young lions – Trigger, Craig Taborn solo, the extraordinary John Medeski Trio, the cello duet of Erik Friedlander and Jay Campbell, the sensational Uri Caine Trio and the queen of New York’s electronic scene – Ikue Mori.
Tickets for the Sarajevo marathon can be purchased at this link or booked at this link at presale prices. Ticket sales will start on October 24th at the box office at Jazz Fest offices at La Benevolencija 14.