Rhonda Smith with Karma Deuce. (source: BJD)
JAZZ lovers will soon have another music festival to look forward to - the Spring Jazz Days.
The new festival will not be limited to Bratislava. It starts in #Žilina on April 11, continues to Košice on April 12 and culminates in Bratislava on April 13 and 14. In each town, four jazz bands will perform, organisers informed The Slovak Spectator.
Keyboardist Marián # Čekovský, guitarist Henry Tóth and drummer Emil Frátrik will start each of the first three festival evenings. Audiences might know the first two from the latest Bratislava Jazz Days. The grouping is no accident, as all of them are masterful musicians.
Brazilian singer Lygia Campos will be the festival's first foreign guest. This singer, composer, pianist and percussionist will bring the audience to its feet with her extensive repertoire of bossanova and original compositions full of Brazilian, African and Arabic melodies.
Peter Lipa, a well-known Slovak jazz singer and founder of the Bratislava Jazz Days, will play with Ruggero Robin and Mino Cinelu.
A performance by Rhonda Smith, one of the best bassists on the planet, and Karma Deuce will top the evening. Smith has been praised by legendary musician Prince.
On April 14, a solo concert by ingenious jazz multi-instrumentalist Richard Bona will take place in Bratislava.
Tickets for the first Spring Jazz Days are on sale at www.ticketportal.sk and www.hudba.info and in the Bratislava Culture and Information Centre.
The spring event is an offshoot of the annual jazz festival, which has been around for more than 30 years. Its next edition will take place in Bratislava on October 24-26.
For more information about the festival, go to www.bjd.sk.
