Time Out says
Internationally renowned jazz and folk artists visit the Croatian capital
Zagreb Jazz Festival and its partner events in Croatia have been welcoming legendary names from the world of jazz for the last decade and a half. The list of previous guests is simply staggering, including Archie Shepp, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Chick Corea and Dee Dee Bridgewater. The event’s 2019 edition similarly holds some extraordinary treats.
Bassekou Kouyate is one of the world’s leading players of the ngoni, a traditional lute used across western Africa. He has toured with Mali’s greatest modern music stars including kora virtuoso Toumani Diabaté and with Ali Farka Toure on his final tour in 2005, after which he formed his own band, Ngoni Ba (pictured). They appear at Tvornica Kulture on November 17.
Vijay Iyer is one of the most celebrated American musicians of the last decade, a pianist and composer who has already produced twenty-three albums covering remarkably diverse terrain, most recently for the legendary ECM label. He appears at Zagreb Music Academy on November 22 alongside friend, mentor and blues veteran Wadada Leo Smith, with whom he recorded the stunning 2016 album ‘A Cosmic Rhythm With Each Stroke’
Virtuoso jazz pianist and Harlem resident Aaron Diehl is a serial award winner, critics favourite, intriguing collaborator and part-time aircraft pilot. He appears with his trio at Zagreb Music Academy on November 24. The festival’s final key performance, with the ethno-influenced Israeli-American bassist Omer Avital and band, also takes place at that venue on November 25.