Belgrade Jazz Festival: Ana Popovic and Nikolov Nonet
The October 21 opening night pairs the world premiere of Vladimir Nikolov's nonet with blues from Ana Popovic, who played her first big shows at Dom omladine 30 years ago.
Thirty years ago, according to RTS, Ana Popovic played her first big shows at Belgrade’s Dom omladine, among them at the St James club. Now she returns to the same building to open the 42nd Belgrade Jazz Festival with her own band, in the Big Hall on October 21 at 9 pm.
The festival runs from October 21 to 24, 2026, with 13 concerts and a closing jam session, and 12 of the acts are appearing for the first time. This year’s slogan is “Jazz Confluence”. We previously reported on the October 24 program, when Marquis Hill and the Joao Paulo Esteves da Silva quartet perform. The first night’s schedule is now known as well.
What is playing in the Big Hall on opening night?
The evening starts at 7 pm. Vladimir Nikolov Nonet gives the world premiere of “History Now”, a program that treats history as both a social concept and a personal experience. It consists of ten new compositions, including dedications to Lyle Mays and Antonio Carlos Jobim. The nonet’s lineup:
- Ivan Radivojevic, trumpet
- Luka Ignjatovic, alto saxophone
- Kristijan Mlacak, tenor saxophone
- Djordje Kujundzic, baritone saxophone and bass clarinet
- Matija Evetovic, trombone
- Sava Miletic, piano
- Vladimir Nikolov, guitars
- Milan Nikolic, double bass
- Aleksandar Cvetkovic, drums
At 9 pm Ana Popovic takes the stage with her band: Buthel Burns (bass), Kevin Jones (drums), Michele Papadia (keyboards), Claudio Giovagnoli (saxophone), Davide Ghidoni (trumpet) and Skyler Jordan (backing vocals).
Why does a blues set open a jazz festival?
According to RTS, the festival’s media partner, Ana Popovic is the biggest blues star in the festival’s history. This year she turns 50 and marks 25 years since her solo debut album “Hush”. She has ten Blues Award nominations and has headlined leading blues festivals around the world. RTS adds that the Belgrade blues scene is celebrating its 45th birthday.
The same piece says the opening concert recalls the festival’s editions of the 1970s, when B. B. King, Muddy Waters, Albert King and Memphis Slim performed there. A festival with “jazz” in its name thus opens for the 42nd time with an evening whose second half belongs to the blues, and the confluence slogan offers a ready explanation.
Who else is playing and how do you get tickets?
The other announced acts are:
- The Messthetics with saxophonist James Brandon Lewis
- Chicago Underground Duo, that is, Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor
- Marquis Hill
- the Arun Ramamurthy trio
- Tino Tracanna and the Panorchestra octet
- the duo of Daniel Garcia and Andreas Scherer
- the Joao Paulo Esteves da Silva quartet
- the Polish groups Akimbo and JuMa
A limited number of festival passes, valid for the eight main-program concerts starting at 7 pm, are sold at the Dom omladine Beograda box office. Single tickets are available at eFinity sales points and online. Prices were not given in the announcements.
The organizer is Dom omladine Beograda, and the patrons are the City of Belgrade and the Ministry of Culture. The festival is a member, by invitation, of the European Jazz Network.
