Deva Jazz Festival

In 2019, the Deva Jazz Festival reached its second edition. The event was organized by the Deva City Hall and the “Drăgan Muntean” Cultural Center at the end of August, beginning of September, in Deva City Park.
Jazz lovers had the opportunity to listen, from classic jazz to the latest forms of musical expression. The organizers have also focused on the diversity of styles this year, each group proposing a complex program, where the specific jazz instruments served admirably the talent and professionalism of the invited musicians.

An event for the whole family
Among the artists who provided the line-up in the second edition were PAPERJAM (RO), JANET EVRA TRIO (USA), LETECKI PEKINEZERI (MK), MONSTEIN ENSEMBLE (CH), THE GAMBLERS – SREMSKA MITROVICA – (SRB), BLUE NOISE (RO), SORIN ZLAT QUINTET (RO), but also the artists from Hunedoara called STEEL JAZZ QUARTET & NISTOR PURCARIU. The headliner of this year’s festival was the queen of soul music, MARTHA HIGH & THE SOUL COOKERS (USA). Every morning of the three day festival a morning concert was held by the vibraphonist Nistor Purcariu (Giovani) a Hunedoara local and Mihai Alexandru on drums. The event is not only for adults, but for families with children also. And so, the Deva Jazz Festival included workshops and musical workshops for children, supported by artists and moderators, where the curious could try for the first time instruments such as: vibraphone, drums, percussion, keyboards or guitars, in Deva Fortress Park’ Pregola every day of the festival.

Vinyl fair and surprise mini-concerts
The attendees were invited to admire, in open air, 40 exceptional works of the members of the Photographic Artists Association in Hunedoara County, which mainly focused on Deva and the Deva Fortress. The novelty of this second edition was the book launch “Musicale Jokes ” – a collection of stories by jazz musician, Johnny Bota, from the Bega Blues Band, from which the fans can discover pranks and jokes made by jazz-maniacs through time. The festival also offered the moment “Jazz and sculpture” – an exhibition with works by the visual artists Ioan Șeu and Decebal Crăciun. A vinyl market was also held entitled – “Vinil Mania” and also a unique project by the Alin Gheju Quartet who held jazz mini-concerts to promote Deva Jazz Festival in different locations both in Deva and in Hunedoara. The organizers of the Deva Jazz Festival were supported by English, German, Hungarian speaking students from the National College “Decebal” in Deva, who volunteered as translators and guides for artists, but also for jazz lovers who wanted to attend the event.
Moreover, the luckiest attendees had the opportunity to win a T-shirt commemorating the event.