2023

The flagship of the London scene will be Friday's headliner for the jazzers. The Comet Is Coming, fronted by the brilliant saxophonist Shabak Hutchings, recently announced they were calling it a day, scheduled for the end of the summer - but they've still been tempted to come to our festival.

Maybe the last, but definitely one of the last concerts of the biggest stars of contemporary English jazz will be in Bratislava!

Theo Croker is an American trumpeter, composer, producer, and singer. He has been nominated for Grammy and Echo awards. The grandson of legendary trumpeter Doc Cheatham, he was a student of the equally famous Donald Byrd. Since 2007, he has released seven albums, with guest appearances by stars such as Jill Scott, Jamila Woods, and Wyclef Jean on his current album, 2022's "Love Quantum."

Kamaal Williams (born Henry Wu) is a British musician and record producer. He began his career producing electronic music as Henry Wu, but rose to prominence with drummer Yussef Dayes as Yussef Kamaal, releasing their only album Black Focus in 2016. Williams has since released two solo albums under his record label Black Focus. Williams' musical style relies on improvisation, including live performances, and he creates music under his own genre of jazz, hip-ho, R&B and electronic music, which he dubs Wu Funk.

Slovak Nuevo Quinteto are five well-known Slovak artists who have decided to dedicate themselves to the works of the master who in his compositions combined the world of tango with classical music in an original way. They debuted at the BHS in 2021 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Astor Piazzolla's birth. The instrumentation is a combination of several Piazzolla ensembles. The musicians decided to replace the guitar, found in his last concert quintet, with percussion and percussion.

Kokoroko is a London-based musical group led by Sheila Maurice-Grey, playing a fusion of jazz and afrobeat. In 2019 they were named "ones to watch" by the Guardian, after their track "Abusey Junction" garnered 23 million views on YouTube. In 2020 they won Best Group at the Urban Music Awards and they played BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. They released their debut album Could We Be More in 2022.

Winners of the 2022 SPP Foundation Young Talent Stage open the Bratislava Jazz Days Slovenská sporiteľňa. Hip-zz is the project of the young Slovak musician Ernest Vizváry. In 2018, the group won the New Faces of Slovak Jazz Award for a convincing instrumental performance at the New Faces of Slovak Jazz competition, and two of its members won the SOZA Award. The musical output of this group is an eclectic mix of genres such as jazz, hip hop, R'N'B and neo-soul.

British pianist, singer and songwriter Reuben James has recorded and performed with megastars such as Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, Herbie Hancock, John Legend, Sam Smith and Tom Misch. As a pianist, he has mastered virtuosic jazz techniques; as a singer, he has a sweet, smooth soulful voice. How he will sound on jazzers is strongly suggested by the instrumentation of his trio: grand piano, bass, drums. Reuben James is regarded in the islands as one of the most creative artists on the jazz scene.

After last year's hugely successful two-month Triple Jump tour, the multi-genre trio is coming to the stage of Bratislava Jazz Days Slovenská sporiteľňa. They will add brand new compositions to their already known repertoire.

Lakecia Benjamin is an exceptional American saxophonist. Prior to her successful solo career, she performed and recorded with artists such as Harry Belafonte, Anita Baker, Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Gregory Porter, The Roots, Count Basie Orchestra, Alicia Keys, Macy Gray, Kool & The Gang, and Clark Terry. She'll be coming to our festival with her quartet as part of the tour for her new fourth album, Phoenix - jazz magazine Downbeat has already managed to name her record as one of the jazz albums of the year.