Zagreb Jazz Festival (Jazzg) since 2005!
In the first 15 years a lot of famous jazz musicians, like Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Chick Corea, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Anat Cohen, Casandra Wilson, Esperanza Spalding, Dianne Reeves played at the Zagreb Jazz Festival. There were more than 120 concerts and several different jazz programs: 13 Zagreb Jazz Festivals, 5 All Women Jazz Festivals, 7 Rovinj Jazz Festivals and 4Backstage Live Pula.
"This is just a few words to thank you for your: 1...hospitality, 2...friendship, 3...professionalism, 4...promoting the festival. We hope to see you at your next jazz festival...thank you,thank you, thank you.....“
Ron Carter, Stephen Scott, Payton Crossley, Steve Kroon
"Tonight in Zagreb was another surprisingly great hosting from the promoter
and his crew. Very good and well prep'd CF3.
Tuning held..fast the whole way - didn't budge. That was NICE."
Chick Corea
"I want to thank you so much for the wonderful time we had there in Rovinj.
The hospitality and warmth that you extended to us was overwhelmingly warm
and exceptional. We'll never forget this trip!"
Rudresh Mahanthappa
"It was really a pleasure to play at Jazz Festival Zagreb. I enjoyed the warm welcome of Drazen, the great organisation and the fantastic audience. I wish you many more nice editions and I hope that in can come back one day, inshallah."
Bassekou Kouyate
"Playing in Zagreb for the first time was an immense pleasure. Friendly people, warm hospitality, and a concert hall with beautiful acoustics. I only hope we'll return to the city another year to stay a bit longer, spending more time exploring this beautiful city and its inhabitants."
Aaron Diehl
It was launched by a passionate jazz fan, Dražen Kokanović: “I founded Zagreb Jazz Festival in 2005, hoping to bring the greatest jazz legends to Zagreb, as well as the young ones.
There is a serious jazz audience in Zagreb, but the concert offer wasn’t quite satisfying. That is why the launching of the Zagreb Jazz Festival was a hit! At the 2nd Zagreb Jazz Festival we already had audience visiting from other cities. After Zagreb, Festivals in Pula and Rovinj followed. It's been 16 years since. Not too bad! :)“
Welcome!
„In my music I'm trying to play the truth what I am. The reason it's difficult is because I'm changing all the time.“
Charles Mingus