An innovative evening combination of jazz and female klapa in Jelsa on Hvar last night.
There was a rare treat for innovative music lovers in the pretty St. John's Square in Jelsa, island Hvar, on July 30, 2015, as a musical fusion of female Dalmatian klapa blended superbly with Slovenian jazz to produce a memorable evening for the packed audience, an event covered by TCN.
Slovenian jazz trio Vasko Atanasovski Trio, who played in the inaugural Jazzelsa jazz festival, returned this year, but with plans to do something a little alternative and include some local tradition. An invitation to Jelsa's first and only female klapa group, Frecija, resulted in some intense last-minute practice, before both groups performed in the pretty square, initially alternating their performances, before combining to produce music together. Click on the picture below to watch them both in action.
The inclusion of Klapa Frecija is the latest recognition of the ladies from Jelsa, who only formed three years ago and are gaining in popularity. This performance follows on from a recent invitation by Klapa Cambi from Split to support them in a concert in nearby Vrboska.
The evening was dedicated to the late Lala Kovacev, a jazz musician and composer, who had a house on the southern side of Hvar, in Zavala. Listen to him in action below: