Jazzinty Festival gets under way in Novo Mesto

Novo Mesto – The 2022 Jazzinty Festival will start in Novo Mesto, eastern Slovenia, on Monday, coinciding with the 22nd international jazz workshop. Running until Saturday, both events will feature more than 70 musicians from ten European countries.

With its year-round concert production, the summer workshop and festival, Jazzinty is following global musical trends and providing support for Slovenian performers, the festival’s artistic director Domen Bohte has told the STA.

After a six-year hiatus, Jazzon, an award for the best Slovenian jazz composition, will be awarded at the festival in what will be the 14th iteration of the accolade. Some 20 musicians are vying for the honour.

What is new is the festival’s enhanced focus on so-called fusion jazz with electronica and contemporary musical approaches.

The workshop will meanwhile continue with the concept of artist in residence, hosting guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke, a renowned performer and teacher who was born in Benin and later made a name for himself in the US. He is best known for being a member of the legendary Herbie Hancock’s band. Loueke will come to Novo mesto in collaboration with Jazzcampus from Basel, Switzerland.

The mentoring team will include acclaimed Slovenian and foreign representatives of new directions in jazz. Under this year’s slogan, The Sound of Youth and the Future, participants will be introduced to the use of technology in music and contemporary sound. The workshop is open to all who are interested in improvisation and jazz, regardless of instrument or jazz background.

Loueke and another two members of the team, American pianist and keyboardist Jason Lindner and Grammy-winning Greek-born bass player Panagiotis Andreou, both members of the group Now vs Now, will also perform at the festival.

According to the organiser, Novo Mesto Institute, the Jazzinty workshop has been attended by more than 1,000 jazz enthusiasts from all over the world, and the festival has attracted some 10,000 visitors over the last 21 years.

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