The 56th Ljubljana Jazz Festival press conference took place on 2 June in an untraditional venue, the Grand Reception Hall of Cankarjev dom. However, the venue heralds some of the new features of the forthcoming festival that is to be held mostly on the premises of Cankarjev dom, in its numerous halls, including the Grand Reception Hall and the Council of Europe Park.

The conference was opened by the Director General of Cankarjev dom, Ms Uršula Cetinski, by introducing the "It’s my first time" campaign. The SheXO Club Slovenia, a society of business women, will award 150 complimentary tickets for LJF first-day concerts, on 1 July, to people who have not attended the Ljubljana Jazz Festival yet! The Festival Directors, Bogdan Benigar and Pedro Costa, owner of the Clean Feed record company from Portugal, briefly outlined the programme whose three main focuses are: guitar, orchestras and Belgium. Some of the festival’s most eagerly anticipated events are the jazz, blues and free-funk guitar giant, James Blood Ulmer, the fantastic and tameless 19-piece Fire! Orchestra and the Belgian Flat Earth Society. Other noteworthy appearances are the legendary Sly & Robbie duo that meets the seminal trumpeter Nils Peter Molvaer, producer Vladislav Delay and guitarist Eivind Aarset, a fresh project to be staged in the Križanke open-air theatre.

The accompanying programme includes artist residencies for musicians who will record their festival gigs, two photo exhibitions, film screenings, a flea market and a series of other events. Two partnering Italian festivals, Trieste Loves Jazz and Udin&Jazz, were presented by organiser Elisa Russo and Artistic Director Giancarlo Velliscig, respectively. The conference concluded with a concert by Jazz je kul bend from the Music School Škofja Loka, a performance by the Retronomin dance group (Studio Dansa) and opening of the CD Jazz Quarter in the festively revamped Maxi underpass.

Anže Zorman

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