how did the idea of the festival come about?
Once upon a time, the Hudobroň music club operated in LM, where the first concerts were organized, which grew into the first year of the festival in 2005. Jano Novotný then pledged to organize 10 years. We are already implementing the nineteenth. If you’re interested, here’s an interview with Year 10 that has some facts, although it’s probably too much information.
How has MJF changed over the years?
Whoever watches our edited videos can take a picture. We basically do it as a two-man show (if we exclude the on-site implementation team – part-timers, sound engineers, stage manager, etc…), in non-profit mode, in addition to normal work. So in the evenings and the like. But I think we have developed quite a bit over the years, the brand is already well-known, the FPU has been supporting us for many years (even in recent years we have been in category 2.1 big festivals like Pohoda or Jezáky) and we have become professional. We changed places, once the festival started in the so-called Army garrison house (next to the House of Culture), then in the courtyard of the Black Eagle (museum), then in the garden, then we were in the Redoubt (the historic premises of the cinema near the Black Eagle), then in Route 66 and finally we anchored in the House of Culture, where we since 2017. It already looks like a stable place, with a proper background, a big stage with a piano and a jazz bar next door. é>
what do you think were the milestones of the festival?
Probably my entry into the festival in 2011. That’s when we came up with the logo and applied for the first grant from the Ministry of Culture. After that we received money every year, the first year when FPU started we didn’t get it, but then for the next years hey and that allowed us (of course, including the support of local sponsors and supporters and especially the favor of the fans) to grow and develop this idea.
how is it different from other festivals?
We try to make the service for the bands human, it’s not just a professional relationship that they play and goodbye, but mostly we spend some time together, have dinner, or at a summer festival at a jam session we party together until late at night. Also for people, we try not to make it some sterile event, but to let our personal and distinctive approach come from it. We do jam sessions and in the hall people sit at tables where they can have snacks and drinks in glasses. We try to have quality gastro at the festival (last years with the support of Liptovar – local brewery + restaurant).
The interesting thing is that the summer festival didn’t have a break even during covid, we always managed to find a window when the measures were relaxed, so we went continuously. Only club concerts were canceled / moved.
The festival is basically year-round – summer festival (always the last weekend of July from Friday to Sunday) + club concerts (usually 10, one every month, except July when there is a summer festival and August when there is a break).
do you also have viewers from the area?
It’s like 50:50 LM and the surrounding area and then from far away from different corners of Slovakia + abroad. So we manage to attract different destinations and the number of visitors is slowly increasing year after year.
how many artists/bands played on it?
I keep statistics, but I don’t have time to add them now. But it is estimated that there will be roughly 550-600 unique names (artists), many of them more than once (just imagine the classics Majo Ševčík, Nikolaj Nikitin, Ľuboš Šrámek and so on…). As for the projects / formations, there will be about 230 of them during the 19 years, plus the bands of the current year of the summer festival (there are 9 of them). A total of approx. 250 by the end of the year.
just put the biggest names “first”.
Miroslav Vitouš, Zbigniew Namyslowski, Ida Kelarová, Iva Bittová, Dan Bárta, Wojtek Mazolewski, Fedor Frešo…
well, let’s go to the program of the current summer festival, will you introduce it to us?
Friday 7/28/2023
Ružombersky Jazz Band
Classically, we open the festival with a free concert from 16:00 on Námestí osloboditelův, with which we want to set the whole city in a jazzy mood and invite people to what will be happening in the city / house of culture for three days = festival. RK Jazz Band = support of local production from Liptov. Another program from 19:00 in the House of Culture every evening.
Cotatcha Orchestra: Big band electronica
My favorite big band and this record is, in my opinion, a very original and fresh take on the big band “genre”. It is already a tradition that the big band starts the festival (there have been countless of them during the history of the festival). Various well-known names in the orchestra, including Erik Rothenstein, Martin Uherek, Rob Ragan and Kamil Slezák (Robert Balzar Trio).
the Bureau
New faces and talents from Košice, winners of the Jazz START UP award for the most convincing performance. Every year, the winners play here and at other festivals. Some info about them, e.g. here.
Pawel Kaczmarczyk Trio
Pawel is a top pianist, he played with us in 2012, when you also played with Ursyn. He studied with Janusz Muniak, whose name bears the legendary jazz club in Krakow. You can find a lot about him on the internet, he released stuff on Hevhetia and ACT music.
There will be workshops on Saturday and Sunday afternoon – they will be led by Ľuboš Brtáň, guitarist from LM, studied in Graz. He has a recording studio here and teaches guitar. The workshops will be one guitar and the other recording. We are still preparing the annotation. Entry is free for all who are interested.
Saturday 29.7.2023
Samuel Hošek – Peace
He already performed here in 2013 with his project Conspirative Theories (they would be suitable even today) and in 2021 with his Jazz Band (well-known covers, but very well handled – excellent Roland Kánik on piano). This has a new album, a return to jazz that we cannot miss. One song will feature Simona Hulejová (more info at Baron Haze). Band: Ľuboš Šrámek, Nikolaj Nikitin, Juraj Griglák, Matheus Jardim.
Gratzer & Bittmann: Telemannia
A very fun project from Austria. Georg Gratzer plays the “wooden” and Klemens Bittmann the violin, mandolin, etc. They played now at Zvuk for Modra and they said very well. Klemens is known from the duo Bartolomey Bittmann, which will come to our festival in September (in the club section).
Oskar Turk & Band
Oskar is a regular at our festival, there is probably no need to describe what a great trumpeter he is. In every good formation, Oskar is like a sideman and that’s why we still call him (whether in Hran, with Wojtek Mazolewski, with Iva Bittová, with Lupták Vargove veci, with Talent Transport Sisou Fehér, with Vertigo, etc…). Well, now he will finally come as a bandleader and it will actually be a world premiere. I don’t know what they will play, but certainly his stuff to the lyrics of Ivan Krask – Hey and Je Nutné. The band will be recycled the same as Samo Hošek, because it simply didn’t work out otherwise (he didn’t know how to organize the Prague group), but it will be different… And Simona Hulejová will also be featuring here. At night again Jam Session in the jazz bar
Sunday 30.7.2023
Baron Haze
Simona Hulejová is a young talent from Ružomberok, she studied at Ježkárna, she just finished school and this is her first own project with her classmates, they also achieved success in JazzDock at Mladí Ladí Jazz 2023. Last year, Simona performed as a soloist in the orchestra of Milan Svoboda VOŠ KJJ. She is quite popular now, she will sing a concert with Petr Lipa at Viva Musica and has the already mentioned featuring in Sam Hošek’s song on the Peace album.
Camille Bertault, David Helbock, Médéric Collignon
This will be the Slovak premiere, they have never performed like this in a trio. Camille was on jazz, you know that. David has already played with us with the great Random Control project (they play well-known jazz things, funny but very artistic – the recording was released on ACT music – on about 20 instruments, including e.g. didgeridoo).
At the end there is usually a jam session. But there is no guarantee – that’s why we call it the final drink in a jazz bar.
Web: www.mjf.sk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikulasjazzfest/
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