Ten Czech bands have been selected by the organisers of the 11th edition of the international festival JAZZFESTBRNO to feature in its attractive programme. From April 10 until 26 Brno will turn into a true “jazz hub” and see international stars such as Brian Blade, Avishai Cohen and Pat Metheny alongside the leading Czech jazzmen including the trendsetters of the jazz music scene of the last decade. “We are delighted that our invitation to perform at the festival has been accepted by the top Czech musicians including renowned performers such as Milan Svoboda or Jiri Stivin and the new jazz generation of Libor Smoldas, David Doruzek and Marta Töpferova,” says Vilem Spilka, Programme and Art Director of the festival.

Internationally renowned jazz guitarist David Doruzek will make an appearance in two bands: as a guest of international ensemble Inner Spaces led by the trumpet player Stepanka Balcarova and the latest band of singer Marta Töpferova who also regularly works with another prominent member of the younger jazz generation Tomas Liska. Pianists Martin Benko and Jiri Levicek will complement the offering of the Czech improvised production. The audience can look forward to the performance of outstanding Czech instrumentalists from the bands Muff, Milan Svoboda Quartet and the bigband consisting of students of the recently created jazz department of Janacek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno.

The list of the international jazz stars is as impressive as that of its Czech counterpart. It includes the highly-praised new band of saxophonist Donny McCaslin, the folk-jazz project “Mama Rosa” of the phenomenal drummer, guitarist and singer Brian Blade, the Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan, the Russian trumpet player Alex Sipiagin accompanied by double bass player Boris Kozlov, the guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg´s quartet, the cult Israeli double bass player and the singer Avishai Cohen and a trio led by Indo-American pianist and jazz visionary Vijay Iyer. There will be a welcome follow-up to the festival when music prodigy Pat Metheny comes to Brno two months later to introduce his new project the Pat Metheny Unity Band as a part of the summer festival series on June 28 at the Brno Bobycentrum.

European jazz won´t be missing either with Austria sending excellent string quartet Radio String Quartet Vienna and Hungary providing ethno-jazz ensemble Djabe. Spanish guitar virtuoso Albert Vila and pianist Najponk, accompanied by his Czech-British trio, will also be present.

JAZZFESTBRNO will stick to its traditional and tried and tested format of two concerts on selected days complemented by popular evening jam sessions. There will also be workshops conducted by top class international artists held at the Janacek Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno.

As usual, the eleventh annual international festival JAZZFESTBRNO presents a wide spectrum of jazz and related genres. From April 11 to 26, a myriad of exceptional foreign guests and top domestic performers will come to Brno to offer fans of modern jazz and improvised music unique musical (and other) experiences. The festival retains its traditional and proven format of two concerts on selected days, amended by night jam sessions.

The program of the eleventh edition is extremely busy, as the organizers managed to squeeze a number of jazz stars in a narrow interval of time. "We did not want to rest on our laurels after the enormously successful year 2011," says Vilém Spilka from 24-7 Promotions, the organizing agency. "The core program consists of jazz musicians from the cradle of jazz, the USA, but the festival also offers a wide variety of musicians from thirteen other countries."

The U.S. domesticated Russian trumpeter Alex Sipiagin with his quartet will perform on April 15 at the Divadlo Husa na Provázku as part of the Russian Culture in the Czech Republic project. Sipiagin´s band includes excellent sidemen - bassist Boris Kozlov, pianist Dave Kikoski and drummer Donald Edwards. April 16 will belong to Brian Blade, probably the busiest contemporary jazz drummer. His fans will certainly be surprised to learn that besides his inimitable musicianship and incredible drumming skills, he can also play the guitar and sing beautifully. His current ensemble, which will come to the Semilasso hall, will play songs from the Mama Rosa album, where Blade excels as singer, guitarist and songwriter.

Another attractive concert from the rich 2012 festival menu awaits the listener on Wednesday, April 18, in the Semilasso Hall – the trio performance of the highly original pianist Vijay Iyer, who enchanted his audiences at the Struny Podzimu festival last year. The program continues on Friday, April 20, at the same place, with the concert of the American guitarist Jonathan Kreisberg. On the next day, April 23, the show moves to the luxurious environment of the Brno Philharmonic Hall (Besední Dům), to witness the double bill concert of the Armenian pianist Tigran Hamasyan and the Radio String Quartet Vienna. The final days of the festival will be marked by the performances of the saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his Perpetual Motion jazz-rock project on April 25, and the incredibly entertaining and highly popular double bassist Avishai Cohen on April 26 in the Bobycentrum Hall.

The ever growing number of festival performers is reflected in a minor change to the format. The festival concerts will be spread throughout the month of April to give our faithful audiences some breathing space between the concerts, something they apparently missed during the weeklong marathons in the past three years. Thus they will be able to better savor the numerous performances by international and domestic stars.

Only two months later, the musical scene will reverberate with the most luxurious echo of the festival a devout music aficionado can hope for – the phenomenal guitarist Pat Metheny and his Quartet, in June 28 in Bobycentrum. “Metheny travels the world with a brand new all-star band, so we could not resist the chance and we will promote the show outside the usual festival framework.“ says Vilém Spilka. „Lovers of quality jazz will definitely be pleased with the new quartet lineup – Chris Potter on the saxophone, Ben Williams on the double bass and Antonio Sanchez on the drums.“

For detailed info on the program and tickets, go to www.jazzfestbrno.cz. Info on the Pat Metheny show is available at www.patmetheny.cz. Special ticket editions for selected concerts for the pre-Christmas season are available from November 25 for discount prices.

In addition to performances of international stars, the festival will offer traditional club concerts. The clubs will host both Czech and European progressive jazz musicians. Workshops by top international artists will continue at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts, as its newly formed department of jazz interpretation is an educational partner of the festival. Popular jam sessions have been an integral part of the festival from the beginning and will remain so during the eleventh edition.

The eleventh edition presents a new challenge for JAZZFESTBRNO. "We raised the bar very high with the tenth anniversary edition, and we hope to keep it high and continue in the trend of increasing the quality and attractiveness for the audience every year in the forthcoming decade," said the festival executive director Vlastimil Trllo of the 24-7 Promotions agency.