Rufus Wainwright’s fascination with Kurt Weill’s music goes back for decades — in his early twenties he wore out the vinyl grooves of Teresa Stratas’ famous Weill album. Never has he dedicated an entire evening to singing the German musician’s songs. With the Paci?c Jazz Orchestra under the baton of Chris Walden he is now expanding the orchestral palette for his approach to Kurt Weill. Wainwright interjects some of his own compositions, old and utterly new ones that have been in?uenced by the German composer who had a long career in the US after migrating here from Nazi Germany. Furthermore, the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles now o?ers a stage that provides the perfect visual setting for the period in which Weill’s songs were written.
Chief Adjuah in Ljubljana
Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah born Christian Scott is a scion of New Orleans’ royalty of art and culture, the Harrisons, and the grandson of legendary Big Chief, Donald Harrison Sr. The trumpet – a proclamatory instrument, seems to have been a logical choice for young Christian, and the elders used to say he’s got “the sound that could call the children home”. His music is communicating. A true “call and response”, a tribute to the rich cultural and activist legacy of his ancestors. In further respect to his true identity, in 2023 he officially changed his name to Chief Xian aTunda Adjuah. Surprisingly, he has been to Ljubljana only once, in 2009, with Marcus Miller’s band, where he played a key role in the Tutu Revisited tribute concert to Miles Davis’ album. This time he comes with his quintet and his latest album Bark Out Thunder Roar Out Lightning.
Charles Lloyd Sky Quartet in Ljubljana
Living legend Charles Lloyd — who came up in the mythical 1950s generation of saxophonists like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, and who has performed alongside every jazz great of the last seven decades, from B.B. King and Don Cherry to Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau (not to mention the Beach Boys) — takes his universally acclaimed 2024 album The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow on tour for an unmissable set at the Jazz Festival Ljubljana. Selected as DownBeat’s Album of the Year, Sky — a mix of “old and new material played by an all-star lineup,” which here includes pianist and composer Jason Moran, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Eric Harland — was released on Lloyd’s 86th birthday. “Lloyd well knows he’s in the twilight of a great career,” wrote The Guardian in a five-star review of the album, “but you’d never know it from the light and joy glowing through this music.”
Stacey Kent plays Baloise Session
New York native Stacey Kent never anticipated a career in jazz music: she was a Sarah Lawrence graduate with a degree in comparative literature. But her childhood days spent listening to the traditional beauty of Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole undoubtedly influenced her. While on holiday in Europe after graduating from college, she took up singing without much formal training and never looked back. In 2010, Kent released the all-French album „Raconte-Moi“, which went on to achieve gold status in both France and Germany. The live album „Dreamer in Concert“ — recorded at the La Cigale in Paris — landed in 2011. Two years later, Kent returned with „The Changing Lights“. Inspired by her love of Brazilian music, the album saw her working with Portuguese poet Antonio Ladeira and French lyricist Bernie Beaupère. She followed that with 2014‘s „Ao Vivo“, a duet album with legendary Brazilian musician Marcos Valle. Tenderly, released in early 2016, marked a return to American standards.
Norah Jones plays Baloise Session
When Norah Jones took to the world stage in 2002 with «Come Away With Me», little did she guess that she would trigger a paradigm shift in pop music with her «moody
little disc». As a pianist her influence is jazz, but as a singer-songwriter she sits firmly in the country tradition of Hank Williams and Willie Nelson. Only the wonderful version of «Cold Cold Heart» on Norah Jones’ first album betrayed the country roots of this highly-gifted musician. While a New-Yorker by birth, she grew up in Texas and was influenced by country and gospel before turning to jazz. Now, with 45 million records and no less than nine Grammy awards under her belt, Norah’s remarkable latest album «Day Breaks» marks her return to jazz. Once more she proves to be one of America’s most important contemporary voices, with a distinctive sound that reflects all the great genres of American roots music: country, folk, rock, soul and jazz, featuring great guest musicians the likes of Wayne Shorter and Lonnie Liston Smith, as well as unexpected cover songs by Horace Silver, Duke Ellington – and Neil Young. So it’s no surprise that Norah Jones is still under contract to the legendary Blue Note jazz label!
Roger Cicero plays Baloise Session
German jazz vocalist Roger Cicero interpreted the sound and spirit of the swing era for contemporary audiences, upholding the family traditions established by his father, renowned jazz pianist Eugene Cicero.
Trombone Shorty plays Baloise Session
New Orleans native Trombone Shorty is the bandleader and frontman of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, a hard-edged funk band that employs hip-hop beats, rock dynamics and improvisation in a jazz tradition. Together, Trombone Shorty and his band have toured the U.S. and Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan, Russia and Brazil. Trombone Shorty toured internationally for the first time at age 12 before joining Lenny Kravitz‘ horn section at the age of 19 for a 105-date world tour in 2005-2006. He performed on the 56th Annual Grammy Awards with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Mary Lambert, Madonna and Queen Latifah, and at the White House in honor of Black History Month with music royalty such as B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, Booker T. Jones and Susan Tedeschi.
Monty Alexander plays Baloise Session – «My Roots to Jazz»
Somewhat further south, but still in the big Creole-Caribbean area, is where pianist Monty Alexander comes from. He grew up in Jamaica and first learned calypso, which is where his unbridled playing, his power and his incredible passion for music must have their roots. At the age of seventeen, he went to the US, played jazz with great virtuosity and was immediately an insider secret. Even the great Frank Sinatra was moved to remark: «Monty is music dynamite!» He always kept his eye on the explosive music developments of ska and reggae in his former home of Jamaica, and in the eighties he began to tour with two rhythm sections: one, a sleek jazz section with bass and drums, the other, rastas with guitars that add Caribbean flair.
Rebekka Bakken plays Baloise Session
Rebekka Bakken is a fantastic singer, with a voice pure as a bell, which reaches the highest heights and the most sensual lows. She is also a storyteller. «As soon as there are words, it is all about the lyrics. As singers, we are only the delivery girls», she has been quoted as saying – a gross understatement in her case. She has mastered the art of putting the spotlight on the song itself, letting it shine in colourful light, while never hiding behind the song. Whether Rebekka Bakken sings songs by Ludwig Hirsch or Tom Waits, rock songs or intimate ballads, whether accompanied by jazz guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, a rock band, or a big band, her iconic voice is immediately recognizable. It goes right under the skin, into the belly and head and directly to the heart. What more could one say of a singer?
Randy Crawford and Leon Bisquera play Baloise Session
Besides Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin and Dee Dee Bridgewater American jazz and R&B singer Randy Crawford belongs to the most successful female jazz and soul singers. She led R&B veterans the Crusaders on the mega-hit ‘Street Life’ (1979), which was featured in the soundtrack for the films Sharky’s Machine and Jackie Brown. She has sung with Bootsy Collins, Johnny Bristol, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Rick Springfield, Steve Hackett, and Joe Sample amongst others.