PRESS RELEASE
2nd Avantgarde Jazz Festival
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Unique festival concept – from May to July 2012 in Rovinj
Supreme jazz program – ten performances by the world's most famous
musicians
Christian McBride Trio opens the festival – hotel Eden on May 4, 2012
Zagreb, April 25, 2012 – The town of Rovinj will again this year host the second edition of
the Avantgarde Jazz Festival. It includes ten concerts that will take place at different
locations in the following three months. As part of the Avantgarde Jazz Festival, from May to
July, Rovinj will host an impressive roster of musicians and jazz greats, such as Christian
McBride Trio, Yellowjackets, 3 Cohens Sextet featuring Anat, Yuval & Avishai Cohen, John
Scofield's Hollowbody Band featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Street & Bill Stewart, The
Tierney Sutton Band, The Bad Plus, Paquito D'Rivera Quintet, Omar Sosa Afreecanos
Quartet, fado singer Ana Moura, and Playing for Change, a group that brings together
musicians from around the world.
Christian McBride Trio will have the honor of opening the 2nd Avantgarde Jazz Festival on
Friday, May 4, in Maistra's hotel Eden in Rovinj. Christian McBride is the premier bassist on
the today's jazz and pop scene. He is simply without peer on his instrument, whether on the
electronic or acoustic bass guitar, and the first choice as collaborator for everyone, from
Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Diana Krall through Sting and Billy Joel to Sonny Rollins and
Pat Metheny. He is one of the leading jazz educators and the Artistic Director of summer
programs of the respected institutes, universities and museums. He is also the winner of the
prestigious Grammy Awards, and this year the respected JazzTimes magazine named him
"top bassist".
After the first successful edition last year, Avantgarde Jazz Festival, with Maistra as its
general sponsor, will again this year gather some of the most significant names of the
world's jazz scene, thus enriching the cultural life and tourism offerings of Rovinj, Istria and
Croatia, and provide the audience a series of musical treats.
The performance of Christian McBride Trio will be followed by the performance of
Yellowjackets in the former Rovinj Tobacco Factory on May 18, 2012. In their decades-long
career, this band has recorded over twenty albums and won numerous awards and
accolades, including several Grammy Awards as well as nominations for this prestigious
award. Their last album, "Timeline," won two Grammy nominations for "Best Instrumental
Jazz Album” and “Best Jazz Composition”. In early 2012, the bassist Felix Pastorius, son of
the famous Jaco Pastorius, joined the band.
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On May 19, the performance of 3 Cohens Sextet featuring Anat, Yuval & Avishai Cohen in
the former Rovinj Tobacco Factory will conclude the events in May. Sextet consists of two
brothers and a sister, Anat Cohen, who is a famous Israeli multi-instrumentalist and one of
the best clarinettists in the world today. Besides performing on stages around the world, the
band 3 Cohens has recorded three studio albums: "One", "Braid" and "Family". When not
working together, each of the Cohens excel individually. They are multiple winners of
numerous awards and accolades – Yuval, the eldest, has recently won Israel's prestigious
Landau Award; among many other awards, this year Anat earned the Clarinetist of the Year
honour awarded by DownBeat and JazzTimes; and Avishai, the youngest Cohen, was a
finalist in the 2011 DownBeat Critic’s Poll in the Rising Star: Jazz Artist and Rising Star:
Trumpet categories.
Two excellent jazz concerts are on schedule in late June. John Scofield’s Hollowbody Band
will perform on June 29 in the courtyard of the former Rovinj Tobacco Factory. Hollowbody
is John Scofield’s project in which he cooperates with one of the greatest guitarists of today,
Kurt Rosenwinkel, drummer Bill Stewart and bassist Ben Street. Scofield is a master of jazz
improvisation and his music can be generally classified somewhere between post-bop, jazz
funk and R&B. He has recorded over 30 albums, many of which have already become
classics, including collaborations with contemporary favourites like Pat Metheny, Charlie
Haden, Eddie Harris, Medeski Trio, Martin & Wood, Bill Frisell, Brad Mehldau, Mavis Staples,
Government Mule, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Lovano and Phil Lesh. He has played and recorded
with many jazz legends, among others with Tony Williams, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Herbie
Hancock, Joe Henderson, Dave Holland and Terumasa Hino.
After John Scofield's Hollowbody Banda, on June 30 The Tierney Sutton Band will perform at
the same venue. A three-time Grammy nominee for Best Jazz Vocal Album, Tierney Sutton is
often described as "a favourite singer among singers", but as well as "a favourite singer
among musicians", who uses her voice as an instrument. She has fronted the Tierney Sutton
Band which includes stellar partners, pianist Christian Jacob, drummer Ray Brinker and
bassists Kevin Axt and Trey Henry for over 19 years. Tierney Sutton is continuously at the top
of critics and listeners’ polls. She has been JazzWeek’s Vocalist of the Year, and her albums
have consistently topped the US jazz radio charts.
The cycle of July concerts will start on July 6 in the courtyard of the former Rovinj Tobacco
Factory by the performance of undoubtedly one of the greatest successes of the last decade,
The Bad Plus band. For the past ten years, this trio consisting of Reid Anderson on bass,
Ethan Iverson on piano and David King on drums, have shattered jazz conventions and
created an uncompromising body of work that at the same time got much good criticism and
provoked much controversy. Since their debut album, the band has been constantly touring,
playing and creating a diverse and ecstatic hybrid audience at jazz clubs, symphony halls and
rock venues (they were an opening act for The Pixies, Wilco, etc.) in the U.S. and worldwide.
A catalogue of disparate impacts which The Bad Plus brings to the stage through original
compositions and numerous remakes is a triumphant combination.
On July 7, the day after the concert of The Bad Plus, the stage of Avantgarde Jazz Festival
(former Rovinj Tobacco Factory) will host Ana Moura, an internationally renowned
Portuguese fado singer. Ana Moura is the youngest fado singer nominated for one of the
most prestigious awards in the field of world music,
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the Edison Award. Beginning of her international career was marked by the concert in the
prestigious Town Hall in New York, followed by a performance at the Carnegie Hall, which
made her the first Portuguese singer to perform at this legendary venue. In 2007, at the
Rolling Stones concert in Lisbon, she sang "No Expectations" with Mick Jagger. She will have
a concert in Rovinj entitled "Leva-me aos Fados."
A week after Ana Moura, on Friday July 13, one of the best clarinettists and alt saxophonist
in the world, Paquito D'Rivera and his quintet will give a performance. The winner of nine
Grammy Awards, Paquito D'Rivera he is celebrated both for his artistry in Latin jazz and his
achievements as a classical composer. D'Rivera’s numerous recordings include more than 30
solo albums that reflect the commitment and enthusiasm for jazz, bebop, Latin music and
classical music.
On Sunday, July 15, Omar Sosa Afreecanos Quartet will perform on that same stage (former
Rovinj Tobacco Factory) fronted by a composer and a pianist Omar Sosa. He is a five-time
Grammy nominee, winner of the Smithsonian Associates' lifetime achievement award and
two BBC World Music awards. In a unique and cosmopolitan way, Sosa entwines the cultural
traditions of Africa and Europe, North and South America in the magical combination that
makes him an original, global artist of the 21st century.
The 2nd Avantgarde Jazz Festival will be concluded on July 22 by the performance of the
band Playing for Change in the courtyard of the former Rovinj Tobacco Factory. This is a
brilliant group of musicians gathered around a Grammy winner, producer Mark Johnson
with the aim to promote intercultural understanding and relationships through music.
On the occasion of presenting the 2nd Avantgarde Jazz Festival, Marketing and Sales
Manager of Maistra, Mr. Ninoslav Vidović, said:
"The idea of launching the Avantgarde Jazz Festival was born last year out of a desire to
enrich the cultural and tourism offerings of Rovinj and to provide domestic and international
audience the enjoyment of listening to jazz music at prestigious locations in Rovinj. In
cooperation with Sapienti Sat, we started this festival which, in its first edition, hosted some
of the most famous names of the world’s jazz scene, such as George Benson, Gary Burton, or
the leading group of the jazz fusion movement of the 70s headed by Chick Corea - Return to
Forever IV, and many others. This year we have also carefully selected the program that will
satisfy even the most demanding audience of jazz aficionados, but also inspire those who are
not. These concerts will surely attract the local audience, but also the guests whose main
motive for visiting is this festival. Maistra wants to provide their guests with the best
experience and this festival is part of it. Maistra wishes that the Avantgarde Jazz Festival
becomes not only the best festival in Croatia but also one of the best festivals of its kind in
Europe. "
The tickets for the 2nd Avantgarde Jazz Festival can be purchased at Maistra hotels: Monte
Mulini, Eden, Park and Adriatic and at all Eventim points of sale, as well as online at
www.eventim.hr. This year Avantgarde Jazz Festival offers a special discount. All guests who
book their accomodation in Maistra hotels get 20% off a regular ticket price.
Avantgarde Jazz Festival is supported by: Maistra, Rovinj Tourist Board
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Media coverage: Jutarnji list, Glas Istre, Novi list, Gloria, Soundset, Tportal.hr.
PROGRAM:
4/5/2012 Christian McBride Trio / Hotel Eden / 8.30 pm
18/5/2012 Yellowjackets / Former Rovinj Tobacco Factory / 9.00 pm
19/5/2012 3 Cohens Sextet featuring Anat, Yuval & Avishai Cohen / Former Rovinj Tobacco
Factory / 9.00 pm
29/6/2012 John Scofield's Hollowbody Band featuring Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Street &
Bill Stewart / Former Rovinj Tobacco Factory / 9.30 pm
30/6/2012 The Tierney Sutton Band / Former Rovinj Tobacco Factory / 9.30 pm
6/7/2012 The Bad Plus / Former Rovinj Tobacco Factory / 9.30 pm
7/7/2012 Ana Moura - “Leva-me aos fados” / Former Rovinj Tobacco Factory / 9.30 pm
13/7/2012 Paquito D'Rivera Quintet / Former Rovinj Tobacco Factory / 9.30 pm
15/7/2012 Omar Sosa Afreecanos Quartet / Former Rovinj Tobacco Factory / 9.30 pm
22/7/2012 Playing for Change / Former Rovinj Tobacco Factory / 9.30 pm
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:
www.avantgardejazzfestival.com
www.christianmcbride.com
www.yellowjackets.com
www.3cohens.com
www.johnscofield.com
www.tierneysutton.com
www.thebadplus.com
www.anamoura.net
www.paquitodrivera.com
www.omarsosa.com
www.playingforchange.com
PRESS MATERIALS:
www.avantgardejazzfestival.com/press
MEDIA CONTACT:
Nikolina Putica
+385 99 3158 197
press@avantgardejazzfestival.com
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