In 2011, UNESCO officially designated April 30 as International Jazz Day and since then, countries around the world have organised concurrent events to celebrate the genre. The Croatian Musicians’ Union (HGU) has just announced this year’s concerts taking place across the country next Tuesday.
Zagreb will stage shows in four attractive streets and squares in the city centre, each with a line-up of four to five acts playing a 40-minute set. A full timetable can be found here (in Croatian but the listings should be clear to all).
Things kick off on Cvjetni trg and Bogovićeva ulica at 4.15pm, then performances get underway on Tkalčićeva ulica and Europski trg at 5pm. The outdoor concerts will conclude at around 7.30pm, just as the sun starts to set.
In Osijek, three gigs will take place throughout the day. The earliest is a five-strong billing of jazz musicians and bands in front of Kino Europa from 10.30am to 1pm, followed by Big Band Osijek entertaining at the cultural centre from 6.30pm. Closing things off nicely will be a Jazz Jam Session at Club Oxygene from 8.30pm, admission free.
Split is organising a show by the Oridano Gypsy Jazz Trio at Concert Hall Ivo Tijardević. From 8pm, visitors will be treated to original tunes as well as covers from the repertoire of Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Tickets at €18 are available here.
At Dom umjetnosti Arsen in Šibenik, a first-come-first-served performance by Big Band Šibenik starts from 9pm, while an outdoor series of concerts at the City Farmers’ Market in Pula begins at 9am.