This year, the International Music Festival Jazz Fest Sarajevo marks its 22nd edition of the festival with the new concept of the festival, which will feature pre-festival concerts organized in September and October.
The first concert will be performed on Monday, September 3rd, at the main exhibition hall of the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, by the guitarist Mary Halvorson, a composer and improviser who is considered one of the most impressive guitarists of her generation.
This concert will be the first concert from the The Stone in Europe series, featuring the program of the famous New York club and music community consisting of some of the best musicians of the New York Downtown scene, presented in Europe. The series were initiated by Jazz Fest Sarajevo and will include dozens of concerts in some of the best jazz clubs and concert halls of Europe, from Sarajevo, Rotterdam, Den Bosch, Vienna, Ljubljana, Ghent, Amsterdam, Vilnius and Oslo.
In addition to Mary Halvorson Quartet, the series will also feature excellent American bands such as Brian Marsella Trio, Secret Chiefs 3 and French AutorYno who will perform the repertoire of one of the most important American contemporary composers John Zorn.
Mary Halvorson will perform in Sarajevo with guitarist Miles Okazaki, double bassist Drew Gress and drummer Tomas Fujiwara, performing Zorn’s repertoire of the second book Masada – The Book of Angels.
Mary Halvorson Quartet concert tickets will be sold at the price of 15 KM in pre-sale and 20 KM on the day of the concert. Tickets can be purchased at the Jazz Festival HQ at La Benevolencija Street 14, and on the day of the concert at the Historical Museum. Early Bird Festival tickets for XX2nd Jazz Fest Sarajevo, which are on sale until September 9th on the Jazz Festival website, are also valid for this concert.
In October, Jazz Fest Sarajevo will organize a number of concert events in various cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, making it possible for the music festival to last for three months, across Bosnia and Herzegovina. More information will be known soon, and Jazz Fest promises wonderful music and top artists with the message that the best concerts you have attended are yet to come. Starting from September 3rd.
THE STONE IN EUROPE
In 2005, John ZORN launched The Stone in New York, now a legendary club where it is not possible to buy drinks or souvenirs, a club that does not make money from music or musicians, a club which goal is simple: to present music and musicians themselves.
The total income from the sold tickets is received by the musicians. Hundreds of musicians of all generations held thousands of concerts in the past 13 years – concerts of various genres of experimental and avant-garde music.
This year, The Stone changed the address – the premises in New York’s C Avenue were replaced with a prestigious location at the New School Glass Box Theater. In September, for the first time The Stone is presented in Europe.
Once a month, one of the bands will have an exclusive mini tour in Europe. In order to start its European odyssey, we asked John ZORN, on the occasion of his 65th birthday, to choose some of his most exciting works to start the European life of The Stone with. There is no better way to celebrate ZORN’s 65th birthday than by celebrating his work and his music.
The series will last until December and will continue in the next two years.
Fotografija: Amy Touchette