The first festival evening includes the performance of celebrated Bulgarian jazz singer Hilda Kazasyan, jazz drummer Hristo Yotsov and Big Band Ruse (conductor Dimcho Rubchev). They are to present a music programme dedicated to Ella Fitzgerald. Most of the arrangements were written by Hristo Yotsov especially for Hilda and are in fact a new reading of popular jazz standards.

The project named “Between the gold on the fingers and the gold in the fingers: Monk&Dizzy tribute band” is to pay tribute to Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie on June 9. Some emblematic Bulgarian jazzmen such as Shibil Benev (piano and guitar), Petar Momchev (Saxophone), Ventzislav Blagoev (trumpet), are to take part at that event. Zara Dixieland All Stars  and Professor Vladimir Radulov (piano and vocals) are also part of the Jazz Forum Stara Zagora. The audience will also enjoy the performance of Military Big Band-Stara Zagora, conductor Captain Tsvetomir Vasilev. Some soloists such as Craig Bailey (USA)-saxophone and singers Militsa Gladnishka and Marina Gospodinova are soloists at this year’s jazz forum.

The last festive evening includes performances of Big Band Radio and Television Serbia and Festival All Stars Big Band. The performers in the Festival All Stars Big Band were selected by the conductor of that jazz formation Antony Donchev. It includes musicians from Spain, France, England and the USA. US jazz trombonist Conrad Herwig will be the soloist and British saxophonist Andy Schofield is also part of that music formation.

A Dixieland procession will be held on June 8 before the official opening of the Jazz Forum Stara Zagora. It will take the audience and the guests to an open-air stage built in the ancient Augusta Trayana antique forum which traditionally hosts the jazz concerts.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov