Sofia swings to the sounds of the European Jazz Conference 2022

Any light sleepers among the 324 delegates from 38 countries at the 8th European Jazz Conference waking early in their palatial suites in the Grand Hotel Millennium high above the ancient streets of Sofia, were woken by a spectacular sunrise through the floor to ceiling plate glass windows each of the four mornings of the conference. One older EJN member quipped that in the early days of the organisation they would have booked a room the size of one of these suites to hold their meetings.

The sunrise could also have been taken as a metaphor for the dawn of a new era for both the Europe Jazz Network, the first full post-covid19 gathering and a new record for both membership level and for conference delegates, with this year’s theme of ‘Breaking new ground’ also providing recognition for the Bulgarian jazz scene which was stifled and repressed under communist rule until late in the 20th century.

During Bobby Petrov’s presentation we learned how in 1986 the communist regime organised a national competition for Bulgarian ‘Wedding Bands’ to catch musicians who were resourcefully adding jazz into their repertoire. Those deemed guilty were led from the stage by the KGB for not playing ‘clean Bulgarian music’. It was as late as 1997 for Bulgaria’s leading jazz pioneer Ivo Papasov to get his first appearance on national television.

There was the irony that all this was taking place against the backdrop of war in Europe and the rise of nationalism. EJN President Wim Wabbes made the plea during his opening speech to members that nationalism mustn’t stop us listening across borders.

Organised jointly by the Europe Jazz Network and Sofia’s ‘A to Jazz Festival’ under the direction of Peter Dimitrov and Mila Georgieva, was a notable event for a number of reasons: At the conference plenary Dragan Ambrozić, Programme Director of the Belgrade Jazz Festival and EJN member since 1990, congratulated organisers Mila and Peter on hosting the conference.

“It was a huge dream of everybody in the Balkans to have this conference gathering over here in South Eastern Europe. We work with almost no infrastructure and with almost no help from institutions. We almost have to make something out of nothing. This is a very historical and inspirational moment for everybody who is working in jazz in this region”. 

The conference combined discussion groups on topics Leadership, Sustainability, Fair Practice Policy, Business Models and Entrepreneurship and Gender Balance. In Sustainability conversations the hot topic of spiralling energy prices and the challenge for venues to keep the heating on.

The UK had a strong presence at the conference with Janine Irons from Tomorrow’s Warriors taking part in a panel discussion on leadership and artist Matthew Herbert providing a video provocation in the Sustainability & Ecology of the Music Ecosystem. Manchester Jazz Festival artistic director Steve Mead was one of three new candidates voted onto the EJN board. His acceptance speech mentioned diversity and the ambition to make the EJN membership more closely resemble the communities that we serve.

Disappointment that artist diversity on the Balkans jazz scene is probably 20 years behind where we are now in Northern Europe. Not surprising when you consider the adversity and restrictions imposed by the communist regime.

The 16 showcases programmed through the day and into the early morning took place at   venues from the Ronnie Scott’s style Sofia Live Club Bar to in-the-round theatre space and 30th floor OZONE bar atop the Grand Hotel Millennium reached by a vertigo inducing glass walled lift.

Styles of music ranged from traditional besuited piano trio – Jivko Petrov’s JP3 – to party funk with varying degrees of influence from music Bulgarian folk and Romani music and further afield provided some interesting combinations. The six-piece Oratniza featuring two female vocalists singing using traditional style harmony of pedal and moving line set against a driving rhythm section dominated by a drum and bass didgeridoo.

Virtuosic power trio Tryplet fusing jazz, rock and Roma influences Ateshghan Yuseinov - guitar, Radoslav Slavchev Riverman - bass, powered by Alexander Deyanov aka SkilleR – beatboxing Via Mavis trio sounded more contemporary and might have been a band from 12 Points artis scheme. All three members met in Sofia and now study in Paris, Vienna and Rotterdam. Viktor Benev playing midi Vibraphone (malletKAT) and weaved flowing lines mixed with spikey comping sounding more like a Fender Rhodes.

For me there were two musical highlights, the atmospheric duo performance by Ukranian musician Dennis Adu - (above) trumpet-fx and electronic musician Dmytro Avksentiev aka Koloah on synth-keys. The pair played a mix of prepared pieces and improvisation with Adu’s trumpet either providing ethereal long note washes against rapid fire lines set against, the at times uplifting and then ominous sound world provided by Avksentiev.

Boris Petrov’s (formerly of Tin Men and the Telephone) made a fascinating presentation on the musicology of Bulgarian traditions from the 1920s right up to the influence on Michael Brecker who had been introduced to Bulgarian music by Stian Carstensen’s band Farmers Market. Following this he got behind the drums and led his 11-piece Jazzanitza ensemble combining jazz and folk instruments, playing an extended piece that took us on a journey through the richness of Bulgarian music folklore and its mixing with jazz.

On the final Sunday delegates were invited to attend one of two cultural tours of Sofia, one a sightseeing tour of the streets and magnificent architecture, and the other a guided communist tour to present that controversial period of history in an informative and objective way.

By the time the sun finally set, and delegates were heading back to their 38 countries, we were left in no doubt on the warmth and positive energy to be found in Sofia and their thriving jazz scene and the delegates from the Balkan jazz scene uplifted by the historic event of a spotlight being shone on the jazz community of South Eastern Europe.