Bansko Jazz Festival 2011: 6th To 13th August
Mungo Jerry Blues Band
The Bansko International Jazz Festival 2011 Programme for 6th to 13th August is below with thanks to Dr Iliev, the Festival organiser’s permission. Official site: banskojazzfest.com. One of the very best weeks to be in Bansko. This year there is no stage B, but there will be performances from 11pm till the early hours at the Kempinsky Hotel Grand Arena Bansko.
With lots of daytime activities, as well as plenty of restaurants to try, this is a perfect time to come for hiking, mtb’ing, horse riding, fishing and tours. Contact me for booking activities and tours at best prices.
Music Legends: But Seating Is Not For Free
A very varied line up of great jazz and pop musicians are featured in the programme of the 14th International Jazz Festival in Bansko. Music legends performing include Jackie Ryan, Larry Vuckovich, Mungo Jerry (from the UK) and other talented and popular participants in the festival, such as Jive Aces, Yoni Vidal, Rick Margitza and Oleg Kireev.
Dr Iliev writes “In times of economic crisis it is particularly difficult to organise a non-commercial event of this kind, and therefore let me express both my own gratitude and that of all jazz fans to the municipality of Bansko and the management of First Investment Bank, which have been supporting this festival for 14 years now, to all other firms and institutions, diplomatic missions, hotels and private persons, who responded and helped to make the festival happen this year too.”
He goes on…”I appeal to all visitors to the festival to stay only in the hotels listed in this booklet (and also web site). Through the hotels they will be able to request and buy subscription cards for seats on the festival square. As the number of these subscription cards is limited, you are advised to apply early. I wish you all a wonderful week in the town of Bansko!”
You will be able to listen to the music for free but, as I understand it, the view will be limited for those not seated. So here it is, I’ll be looking forward to hearing The Summertime (1970) from Mungo Jerry, which reached number one in the charts around the world a record that has sold almost 30 million copies, making the song the most popular summertime hit of all times. “Have a drink, have a drive.”Not considered so wise these days!
The Jazz Festival 2011 Programme
| Date/Day | STAGE “NIKOLA VAPTZAROV“ SQUARE |
|---|---|
| 6 August, Saturday begin 19.30 h |
Dixieband Teteven (Bulgaria) – Dimcho Dimitrov – conductor, vocal and trombon; Marin Yordanov – clarinet, tenor-sax; Stoyan Todorov – clarinet, sax; Todor Bakardjiev – trumpet; Tanja Dimitrova – piano; Pavel Tetevenski – guitar, banjo, vocal; Vladko Vasilev – bass; Borislav Vasilev – drums; Nikolay Stoykov – percussion; Stanislava Dimitrova-SUNNIE – vocal; Stefan Slavejsky – vocal
Lili Ivanova & band (Bulgaria) – Ognyan Enev – piano, trumpet, sax, Biser Ivanov – guitar, Orlin Tsvetanov – violine |
| 7 August, Sunday begin 19.00 h |
Ensemble Trakia (Bulgaria) – conductor Daniela Djeneva
Balkan Horses (Bulgaria) – Vladi Velichkov – kaval; Krassi Zhelyazkov – BG tambura, acoustic guitar, vocals; Nevena Petrova – vocals, percussions; Niki Ivanov – keyboards, vocals, bamboo flute; Radoslav Slavchev – bass guitar, vocals, rain stick; Emil Pehlivanov – drums Albena Veskova (Bulgaria) – Albena Veskova – vocal, Toni Zlatanov – piano, vocal, Emil Pehlivanov – drums, Dimitar Karamfilov – bass, double bass, Vladimir Velichkov – kaval |
| 8 August, Monday begin 19.00 h |
Bulgarian National Radio Big Band – conductor Antoni Donchev & special guest Vassil Petrov (Bulgaria)
Jazzex (Ukraine) – Elena Orlova – soprano, Marina Kerusenko – alto, Sergei Yurchenko – tenor, Pavel Moskalenko – baritone, Inessa Kachaylova – soprano, Dmitry Efimenko – bass, bеаt box POVTARQ SE Dmitry Efimenko – bass, bit box Jackie Ryan & Larry Vuckovich Trio (USA) – Jackie Ryan – vocal; Larry Vuckovich – piano; Paul Keller – bass; Chuck McPherson – drums |
| 9 August, Tuesday begin 19.00 h |
Kaffe Ball (Serbia) – Zoran Mamutovic – piano, Miroslav Milic – trumpet, Miroslav Mladenov – tenor sax, alt sax, flute, clarinet, Dragan Milovanovic – trombone, Bratislav Todorovic – guitar, Martin Ajvazi – drums, Dusan Piskovic – bas guitar, Bratislav Osmanovic – percussion
Camellia Todorova & JP3 (Bulgaria) – Camelia Todorova – vocal, Jivko Petrov – piano, Vesselin Vesselinov-Eko – bass, Mitko Semov – drums, Petia Dragomirova – vocal & Rachel Row – back vocals The Jive Aces (Great Britan) – Ian Clarkson – vocals, trumpet, ukulele, Ken Smith – double bass, Vince Hurley – piano, Peter Howell – drums, John Fordham – saxophone, Alex Douglas – trombone, bongos, blues harp, kazoo, washboard, spoons |
| 10 August, Wednesday begin 19.00 h |
Ondrej Stveracek quartet (Czech Republic) – Ondřej Štveráček – tenor saxsophon; Tomáš Baroš – bass; Ondrej Krajňák – piano; Marián Ševčík – drums
Elina Duni quartet (Albania, Switzerland) – Elina Duni – vocal, Colin Vallon – piano, Patrice Moret – double bass; Norbert Pfammatter – drums Yoni Vidal (Spain, Belgium) – Fabio Picchi – piano, Juan Manuel Camus – guitar and vocal, Victoriano Gonzalez – drums, Jose Perez – bass |
| 11 August, Thursday begin 19.00 h |
Boriana Dimitrova Quartet (Bulgaria, Germany) – Boriana Dimitrova – sax, flute, Lars Dahlke – guitar, Jakob Dreyer – bass, Niels-Henrik Heinsohn – drums, Konstantin Sveshtarov – piano, Hristo Angov – vocals, bagpipe
Maya Nova Quartet (Bulgaria) & Rick Margitza – sax (USA) – Chavdar Nachev – bass, Dimitar Bodurov – piano, Dimitar Dimitrov – drums Mungo Jerry blues band (Great Britain) – Ray Dorset – vocal, guitar, Heini Altbart – drums, Johnathan Playle – bass guitar, Helmut Posch – piano |
| 12 August, Friday begin 19.00 h |
Big Band Saransk – Conductor Alexander Kurin (Russia) & Special guests Oleg Kireyev – saxofon, Oksana Glebova – vocal, Sergei Semionov – vocal
Lily of the West (Bulgaria) – Lilly Drumeva – vocal, guitar, fiddle; Yasen Vasilev – guitar; Svoboda Bozduganova – double bass; Mihail Shishkov – piano, dobro guitar Milo Suchomel quartet (Slovakia) – Milo Suchomel – tenor sax, Klaudius Kovac – piano, Stefan Bartus – double bass, Marian Ševcik – tenor sax Akaga (Bulgaria) – Krasi Kurtev – frontmen, bass, Georgi Velev – trompet, vocal, Ivo Kazasov – trompet, vocal, Krasi Kirilov-Jojo – trombone, vocal, Kalin Petrov – keyboards, Peter Glavanov – guitar, Dimiter Mitev-Dundi – drums |
| 13 August, Saturday begin 19.00 h |
Ankara Combo band & Elif Tacer (Turkey) – Kemal Gunuc (conductor, arranger, composer), Mirac Kutlu (keyboards, arranger, composer), Onur Elibol (bass), Ozgur Duranoglu (drums), Ertugrul Ilerisoy (guitar), Ali Kil (percussion), Mehmet Erdemli (tenor sax, arranger, composer), Meric Demirkol (alto sax), Hikmet Altunbaslier (trumpet), Mertcan Parlar (trombone)
Baron – sax & Jarek Bothur Quartet (Poland) – Jarek Bothur – saxophone, Jakub Pluzek – piano, Maks Mucha – double bass, Grzegorz Maslowski – percussion Márta Téli trio (Hungary) – Márta Téli – vocal; István Gyárfás- guitar; Zoltán Oláh – bass Percussion Show (Egypt) – Ahmed Bahaa – djembe, conga, Ahmed Hesham – drums, Ahmed Aly – tabla, BOB – percussions, Mizo – djembe, conga, doff, Moe Arkan – drums, shams-timbales , cowbels, shakers |
| The organisers reserve the right to make changes in the program | |
Holidays
Bansko has been quieter this summer so far, and with all inclusive holidays costa teguise offering hot destination holiday price reductions. Tourists have more options… combine this with more expensive flights to Bulgaria, I am not surprised there are fewer summer Bansko visitors. That said, Ryanair now has some slightly cheaper flights to Plovdiv direct from the UK. But be warned Plovdiv can be uncomfortably hot.
Tip Of The Day
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Hi I've been trying to let out my flat for the jazz festival and was not to pleased to hear the organisers saying people should only stay in recommended hotels. I pay local taxes and deserve equal treatment
Hi Gareth,
I agree it sounds strange. However some hotels will have given some sort of support to the Jazz Festival and the orginsers are reciprocating. The language is too strong — but I'm not sure many people will take any notice of what is said in this respect. Any more comments?