59th Slaný Jazz Days - Saturday Evening

JAMAIR & Irena Budweiserová

The main festival evening opens with one of the most renowned Czech singers, whose repertoire spans jazz, blues, spirituals, gospel and other genres. She composes, writes lyrics and teaches. Her impressive voice with a wide range has earned admiration in Slaný multiple times, both in solo concerts and with the Spiritual Quintet.

A native of Rokycany, she rose to prominence in the 1980s as a member of the Spiritual Quintet. Since 1988 she has pursued other projects and collaborations, including musicals and engagements at the National Theatre and other venues. She performed for a long time with the backing band Fade In and classical guitarist Vladislav Bláha, and from 2011 with the band Blue Soul. Beyond collaborations, she has released solo albums of various genres, performed (often with the group Plavci) on television, and engaged in visual art and foundation work.

In 2018 she co-founded the JAMAIR project with Jakub Racek and Márió Bihári - "a gathering of three individuals who complement each other distinctly on stage and present their view of world music, spirituals, Roma music, blues, folk, Spanish rhythms and Sephardic songs". The trio's music combines virtuosic interpretation with emotion and authenticity.

Line-up: Irena Budweiserová - vocals, percussion; Jakub Racek - electric guitar, vocals; Márió Bihári - accordion, piano, keyboards, vocals.

MUFF

The Prague band MUFF was formed in 1999 and consists of five musicians moving between jazz and rock with touches of psychedelia and electronic music. The name was chosen after a well-known mischievous plush character from children's television programmes. This year they are preparing their fourth studio album.

MUFF is characterized by genre-blending and creative freedom that ignores established conventions and musical boundaries - the concert thus weaves together jazz, rock, pop and alternative to experimental electronic music, playfulness with improvisation, and strong themes with relaxed passages. In Slaný they will perform as part of a tour for their upcoming new album.