{"id":5079,"date":"2018-05-07T09:29:05","date_gmt":"2018-05-07T08:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ljubljanajazz.si\/?page_id=5079"},"modified":"2026-04-16T14:05:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T13:05:40","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ljubljanajazz.si\/en\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column icons_position=”left”][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

About us<\/h5>\n

The Jazz Festival Ljubljana traces its origins to 1960 in Bled, where it was launched as the Jazz Festival Bled, one of the earliest festivals of its kind in Europe and the first in this part of the world. The initiative arose the previous year among members of Yugoslav dance orchestras performing at pop festivals in Opatija, at a time when jazz was still a bone of contention and occasionally faced occasional calls for prohibition. The inaugural edition immediately established an important platform for the genre, bringing together both local and international artists, including prominent Slovenian ensembles such as Ansambel Mojmirja Sepeta, Kvartet Jo\u017eeta Priv\u0161ka<\/strong>, and the Ljubljanski jazz ansambel<\/strong>. The festival quickly acquired an international character, welcoming foreign musicians as early as 1962 and achieving a major breakthrough with a concert by the Modern Jazz Quartet, which firmly established its position on the global jazz map.<\/p>\n

Despite its early successes, the withdrawal of budgetary support in 1963 thrust the festival into financial uncertainty, affecting its continued operation in Bled. In 1967, it relocated to Ljubljana, where it gradually developed into the country\u2019s leading national and international jazz event, while the Bled edition was briefly revived between 1985 and 1987. Since 1982, the festival has been run by Cankarjev dom, providing it with stable institutional backing, production resources, and a long-term programming vision.<\/p>\n

Over the years, the festival\u2019s programme has been shaped by France Kapus, Aleksander Skale, Zoran Pistotnik, Stane Su\u0161nik, Lado Jak\u0161a <\/strong>and Tone Jan\u0161a<\/strong>. In the late 1980s, Brane Ron\u010del<\/strong> took the helm and successfully steered the festival through the turbulent 1990s. Oliver Belopeta<\/strong> and David Braun<\/strong> each served one term as artistic directors, while for more than two decades the festival thrived under the artistic leadership of Bogdan Benigar, alongside co-selectors Pedro Costa, Edin Zub\u010devi\u0107, Dre Ho\u010devar <\/strong>and Borja Mo\u010dnik<\/strong>. In 2024, Tina Le\u0161ni\u010dar<\/strong> took over as Artistic Director, with Borja Mo\u010dnik<\/strong> continuing as co-curator of the festival programme.<\/p>\n

Today, still produced by Cankarjev dom, the festival takes pride in nurturing its rich heritage while continually evolving in response to contemporary musical trends. Over more than six decades, the festival has welcomed numerous seminal figures from the global jazz and wider music scene, making a significant contribution to the development and recognition of jazz in this part of Europe, including Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Archie Shepp, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, John Zorn, Alfa Mist, Charles Lloyd, Chief Adjuah, Meshell Ndegeocello, C\u00e9cile McLorin Salvant <\/strong>and Pat Metheny.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column icons_position=”left”][vc_column_text css=””] About us The Jazz Festival Ljubljana traces its origins to 1960 in Bled, where it was launched as the Jazz Festival Bled, one of the earliest festivals…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5079","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\r\nAbout - 67. 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