The 28th Novi Sad Jazz Festival was held in the heart of Novi Sad. Over the course of three days, from 3 to 5 July, the audience enjoyed nearly 35 hours of programme featuring numerous performers from Serbia, the region, Europe, and around the world. It is difficult to even count the thousands upon thousands of visitors of all generations who moved through the six festival locations during the three festival evenings.
The Summer Cinema of the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad opened its doors to some of the biggest stars of jazz music. On the first day, one of the most significant contemporary jazz musicians, Avishai Cohen, performed to a sold-out audience, with tickets in high demand. On Saturday, 4 July, the audience enjoyed a joint performance by Grammy Award winner Joe Lovano and acclaimed jazz pianist Antonio Faraò, who presented their project Explorations. On the final day, Italian pianist Francesca Tandoi delivered a special performance, once again confirming her status as a rising queen of the European jazz scene through her virtuosity.
On the stage in Katolička Porta, the full genre diversity and complexity of jazz could be heard. The instrumental ensemble Deep Steady opened the festival, followed by Jazzysad, one of the pioneers of blending jazz and electronic sound in the Balkans. An unexpected acoustic improvisation by the brilliant Milena Casado brought a distinctive energy and authentic atmosphere. The audience stood alongside the musicians on stage and took part in the creation of the music. On the second day, the regionally recognised QuadBones performed, as well as Emma Smith, winner of the prestigious Parliamentary Jazz Award, whose charisma and energy had the audience dancing. On the final evening, an original jazz quartet led by Bojan Cvetković performed, while the programme on the Katolička Porta stage was closed by one of Europe’s leading jazz drummers, Vladimir Kostadinović, with his quartet.
The stage in Laze Telečkog Street hosted a wide range of genres and performers, including Boris Hložan Sextet, Bullet for a Badman, Spare Cats, Foltin, White City Soul, DJ Catalina / Daughter of the Sun, Afro Gitano, and the young six-piece ensemble Modusi, whose performance closed the stage programme. In Njegoševa Street, the audience in the LOFT garden experienced a more relaxed jazz atmosphere in a true Novi Sad spirit — lagáno, from comfortable seating and with a good drink. Across the three festival evenings, this stage featured three female-led quartets headed by Valerija Šurgalina, Anđela Koruga, and Tanja Senić.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Miles Davis, one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, the Art Salon of the Cultural Centre of Novi Sad was transformed into a space dedicated to music, listening, and encountering the rich history of jazz. The audience had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a unique experience of listening to vinyl records.
A special highlight of this year’s festival was the jam session, which took place every evening from 11 p.m. in the courtyard of the Museum of Vojvodina, featuring the festival’s house band – the Ljubomir Turajlija Quartet.
Over three days of music, encounters, and shared moments, Novi Sad once again showed that it truly breathes jazz, and that this music creates a unique atmosphere with the power to bring people together in a special way — lagáno.
Photo: Jelena Ivanović, Vladimir Veličković, Ervin Kovač