International Jazz Day in Belgrade

INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY: „AZURE” ULRICH DRECHSLER’S LIMINAL ZONE  & DEJAN ILIJIĆ SOLO PIANO
 
Tuesday 30 April 2019,  21:00 // Belgrade Youth Center
 
For 30 April, International Jazz Day, Belgrade Youth Center presents a very special, double music experience, showcasing all the diversity of jazz as art, exiting and true to prevailing 21st century trends, close to all generations. Ulrich Drechsler and Peter Zirbs, spearheads of fresh Austrian scene trends will present an exciting duo Azure program, while one of the key new generation Serbian jazz musicians, the EYOT band leader Dejan Ilijić will present for the first time his latest piano solo album DYAD.
 
Ulrich Drechsler, one of the most important contemporary musicians from Austria, will exclusively present the Azure program. This duo, in cooperation with Peter Zirbs, the legend of the electronic club scene in Vienna, is part of a major project - LIMINAL ZONE. This is Drechsler's monumental work in progress, brings together a large number of artists and blends his eclectic music interests: classical music, jazz, pop, funk, film music, drum'n'bass, hip-hop, Scandinavian minimalism, Persian soufi music, British trip-hop, Eastern European contemporary romanticism, Mediterranean music... Using his sophisticated skills of a true artist, Drechsler joins seemingly incompatible areas into three music fields: Chrome, Caramel and Azure, creating the Liminal Zone Universe. Belgrade audience will witness the creation of this project, scheduled to be completed for the Belgrade Jazz Festival 2020. Ulrich Drechsler (tenor saxophone, electronics) and Peter Zirbs (electronics) together in Azure scope explore the boundless world of sounds, beats, electronic atmospheres and melodies blending them with their musical roots. With their personal rendition of jazz through electronics, they bring a new dimension and a fresh view on the future of this music genre.
 
Dejan Ilijić's career has been tied to Belgrade Youth Center from the very start, for this is the venue where he and his band EYOT performed some of the career-defining concerts, therefore it is only natural for him to present on this very stage his fourth solo album. DYAD brings 10 new compositions by Ilijić, with English trumpet player Pete Judge from the band Get the Blessing as the guest artist. It is supported by SOKOJ and scheduled for release in late March 2019, under the Metropolis Jazz label. As a solo artist and as the leader of the band EYOT, Ilijić performed in more than twenty five countries all around the globe and composed music for documentaries and TV shows. He released three solo albums for the American market so far: Eyot (2006, Ninety and Nine Records), The Journey (2011, Magnatune), Sun (2012, Magnatune), as well as the album I am Here (2009, Ninety and Nine Records) marking his collaboration with Kent Gustavson. Ilijić's performance is defined by his emotional and energetic approach to every show, making this a trademark of the music by EYOT, and of his solo work.
 
The concert for the International Jazz Day is only a first of many events scheduled to mark the anniversary, 35th edition of the Belgrade Jazz Festival, organized by Belgrade Youth Center and under the City of Belgrade patronage, from 22 to 27 October 2019. As every year, the audience will have the opportunity to listen to more than 20 performers and meet the top and latest achievements on the international and national jazz scene.