Zgrabi Zvok Big Band
friday, 12. 7.
A week before the festival, a small surprise is brewing in Marezige - Zgrabi Zvok (Grab the Sound) and its bands. In co-organization with JazzObala, we have been running the Zgrabi Zvok summer jazz school for several years, where promising jazzers create for almost a week. Since Zgrabi Zvok is a subsidiary project of the MareziJazz festival, its primary goal is to put together a big band and introduce this type of band and music to the participants. This year, Zgrabi Zvok big band with a standard setup will be presented for the first time at MarezaJazz, which will open the possibility for the the participants to show what they will practice and learn in just six days of the workshop.
Youth Big Band Radlje
friday, 12. 7.
Youth Big Band Radlje is an exciting musical group operating as a member of the Big Band Radlje Club. It was established last year and has quickly gained recogniton under the leadership of the saxophonist Blaž Starc, a Slovenian Ministry of Culture scholarship holder. The group brings together young musicians with diverse musical backgrounds, united by a passionate dedication to jazz and big band music. In the current season, Youth Big Band Radlje focuses primarily on funk music from the late '60s and '70s with contemporary arrangements by the outstanding Izidor Leitinger. With their youthful energy and artistic enthusiasm, they have become an important part of the music scene, delighting audiences and contributing to the enrichment of musical culture in their local community and beyond.
Big Band NOVA
friday, 12. 7.
Big Band NOVA has been working continuously since 1995. Eighteen musicians of different ages met in what was then the hall of the Nova Gorica Music School. In almost three decades, over 80 young musicians from Nova Gorica and the surrounding area performed in approximately 350 concerts. Many of them continued their musical journey by studying jazz at home and abroad. You will hear them as soloists this time as well, in addition to some of the professors of the Nova Gorica Music School and some older founding members. Big band NOVA is currently led by jazz pianist Blaž Pahor. This year, the ensemble presents a swing program with jazz singer Maruša Kos, who studies at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana, and will sing some of the greatest hits of jazz singers Diane Schuur and Ella Fitzgerald. The big band will also play some evergreen instrumental compositions by Count Basie's big band, as well as compositions by local arrangers and composers. The project was started by the big band in the desire to restore the knowledge of performing the swing style, which has been somewhat neglected in their repertoire in the last few years.
Vienna Composers Big Band
friday, 12. 7.
The Vienna Composers Big Band (VCBB) is an international composing collective that has come together to pursue its passion for large orchestral jazz, balancing innovation with a sense of tradition. The ensemble, formed in 2021 around the trumpeters Jordi Roviró and Jonas Friesel from the Viennese jazz scene, is dedicated to performing original compositions and arrangements by its own members. The VCBB released its debut album "First Harvest" in fall 2023 and embarked on a successful tour across Austria following the release. Now, the VCBB is looking forward to their first international appearance.
Emiliano Sampaio Mereneu Project
friday, 12. 7.
The Brazilian composer, guitarist, and trombonist Emiliano Sampaio has lived in Austria since 2012. He founded the Nonett Mereneu Project with top musicians from the Austrian scene. The nine-piece band released their third album, "Music for Large Ensembles Vol II," in 2020. The band received a four-star review and won the 2014 Best Small Jazz Combo award from DownBeat Magazine. In 2016, the Mereneu Project played at the largest jazz festival in Brazil, the Savassi Festival. The Mereneu Project has also been a guest at many jazz festivals in Europe and Australia.
Jazz combo of Waldorf School Ljubljana
saturday, 13. 7.
Once the first saxophone quartet of the Waldorf Music School Ljubljana, which later added a rhythm section (drums, bass, piano), it has expanded over the years to include other instruments. The ensemble, which changes a little every year as new students come and old ones leave. It brings together students (including some interested teachers) of the Waldorf School Ljubljana who are interested in the mysteries of jazz and improvisation, and above all want to play music together as much as possible. Last year's performance at MareziJazz was the culmination of several years of flirtation with the music of Frank Zappa. This year, they turned their attention to "Japanese" jazz, or to the compositions of Japanese composers of anime cartoons and video games. The most prominent was the music of composer Yoko Kanno, who wrote the wonderful jazz pieces for the cartoon Cowboy Bebop, and of course the music from the Super Mario game. The ensemble is led by mentors Jan Jarni and Žiga Fabbro.
Roveri Big Band
saturday, 13. 7.
Roveri Big Band is a group of musicians enthusiastic about this ambitious project, who have been working for years on building an overall, engaging and communicative sound. Roveri's current repertoire follows two directions: the original compositions of the conductor Massimo Sgargi and a series of modern jazz arrangements of Italian songs, masterfully interpreted by the voice of Elisa Cavallarin. In recent years, Roveri Big Band has been invited to the CrossRoads Festival three times (2015, 2016 and 2017), to MareziJazz festival in Slovenia, and to the La Strada del Jazz Festival in Bologna (2020). The band was also the winner of the Accensione Civica tender promoted by ENEL for a concert project in their new restored and illuminated spaces in Bologna.
Big Band Cerknica
saturday, 13. 7.
Big Band Cerknica, often abbreviated as BBC, is a renowned musical group founded in 2003, which brings together both professional and amateur musicians from the local environment who share a passion for jazz and related musical genres. Their conductor for more than a decade has been jazz tubist and composer Goran Krmac. The band is known for its lively and diverse repertoire, which includes jazz standards, swing, blues, funk, groove and even revamped Slovenian pop songs. This eclectic mix, along with the conductor's relaxed MC-ing, ensures that their performances are always lively and engaging. One of their recognizable events are the annual concerts "Cerkniško Jazzero", where they often collaborate with renowned Slovenian singers such as Jadranka Juras, Mia Žnidarič, Ana Bezjak, Tinkara Kovač, Anika Horvat, Rudi Bučar, Hamo, and brilliant instrumentalists such as are David Mozetič, Steve Klink, Milan Stanisavljević, Blaž Jurjevčič, Jani Šepetavec... These concerts have become a fixture of the Cerknica cultural calendar and attract jazz enthusiasts from near and far. In addition to live performances, Big Band Cerknica recorded two albums and in 2018 even contributed to the soundtrack for the Irish feature film The Belly of the Whale, composed by the renowned composer Janez Dovč. Despite coming from a small environment, the band puts a lot of emphasis on local talent and is successfully adding young local talent to their roster.
Big Band Krško
saturday, 13. 7.
Big Band Krško is one of the leading Slovenian big band bands. The performance at this year’s MareziJazz was conceived in collaboration with Štêpánka Balcarova, one of the most renowned contemporary Czech jazz composers. Štêpánka Balcarova draws her inspiration from nature, poetry and visual art. Bob Brookmeyer's musical legacy is the biggest influence on her music creation. Štěpánka Balcarová is a Czech trumpeter, composer and conductor. In 2012, she completed her master's degree at the prestigious Polish Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice in the field of jazz trumpet. She later studied jazz composition and arranging in Graz under the mentorship of Edward Partyka. She currently lives in Prague, where she works as a teacher at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory and Vocational School and at the Jazz Department of HAMU. Balcarová is the leader of several musical projects. It is mainly the Czech-Polish quintet Inner Spaces, the jazz big band Concept Art Orchestra or the septet with the Polish singer Małgorzata Hutek. She also plays, for example, in Petr Kořínek's Trialog, in Nikoli Kołodziejczyk's avant-garde project Chord Nation, and occasionally collaborates with other important actors of the Czech jazz scene.
Bend-it! Orchestra
saturday, 13. 7.
After last year's adventure in France, Bend-it! Orchestra found its way back to its home stage this year, under which the audience will be able to dance to Latin and funk rhythms. The band, which was conceived by local musicians in 2018, is now working under the musical guidance of trumpeter Primož Štefančič. The group consists of both amateur and professional musicians, who are united by the desire to play music together and the enthusiasm for big band music.