Plovdiv Jazz Fest 2025 begins with garden concerts in July

Plovdiv Jazz Fest 2025 is to begin with two garden concerts in July and a concert in August in the village of Markovo, 10km from the city, and will continue in the autumn when once again the event brings in some of the best-known jazz names in the world.

The summer programme of the festival is dedicated to Balkan and ethno jazz, world music and in general, to the mixing of the jazz sound with traditional music.

Tickets for all concerts are now on sale via Eventim.

The first concert is on July 11 at 9pm in the villa area of Markovo, at 60 Panorama Street and features a performance by the Vladigerov brothers.

Alexander Vladigerov (composer, arranger, trumpeter and flugelhorn player) and Konstantin Vladigerov (composer, arranger, pianist, clarinetist and bass clarinetist) are the sons of the distinguished conductor and composer Alexander P. Vladigerov and the actress Velichka Chobanova -Vladigerova.

The two are graduates of the Lyubomir Pipkov National Music Academy and the Panco Vladigeorv State Music Academy in Sofia, as well as the University of Music and Performing Arts and the Conservatory in Vienna, where they have lived and worked for more than 25 years.

Over the past 17 years, the Vladigerov brothers have released six albums with their own composition. They are currently working on their latest album.

The second concert is on July 12 at 9pm, and is to combine the Greek musical tradition and jazz, with Greek vocalist and instrumentalist Sofia Glavopoulos accompanied by Miroslav Turiyski (piano), Alexander Lekov (bass guitar) and Nacho Gospodinov (drums).

Glavopoulos is particularly interested in Balkan music. She began her musical education in early childhood and received her training at the Music High School in Serres, where she studied bouzouki as a special instrument.

As has become traditional, the summer jazz evenings in Markovo close with a free concert on the open stage in the centre of the village, in front of the Aleko Konstantinov – 1907 music hall, 63 Zahari Stoyanov Street.

The concert, on August 21 at 9pm, is to feature virtuoso clarinetist Ivo “Ibryama” Papazov and the Trakia Orchestra. The world-famous musician was born in Kurdzhali into a family of hereditary musicians from Dedeagach, and his real name is Ibryam Khapazov.

He started playing as a very young child, and for more than 50 years he has been mixing Roma musical culture, Bulgarian folklore, Turkish, Greek and Balkan rhythms, jazz and funk. Together with his “Wedding Orchestra”, composed of musicians from different ethnic groups and from different parts of Bulgaria, Ibryama receives offers for concerts all over the world.

He first performed abroad in 1988. During this period, Papazov became close to the great jazz musician Milcho Leviev, with whom they played together. Leviev introduced him to the famous American producer Joe Boyd, who worked with REM, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix. It was he who made it possible for Ibryama’s music to be accessible and known all over the world. Boyd remains his producer to this day.

In November, the festival retains its traditional autumn format, in which each evening includes two major concerts, an exhibition, the inclusion of young jazz professionals, jam sessions and club concerts.

From November 7 to 9, on the stage of the Boris Hristov House of Culture, performers will include world-famous American singer Liz Wright and her quartet, Swedish jazz pianist and composer Jakob Carlsson in a concert with the special participation of the Swedish jazz singer Victoria Tolstoy and the legendary band Yellowjackets.

The main programme of the festival also includes All Stars Big Band, a project of Prof. Hristo Yotsov; the quartet of Los Angeles-based pianist Milen Kirov and the iconic Bulgarian band ZONE C.

The organiser of Plovdiv Jazz Fest is Blue M.