Jazzfruit 2023

This is the fourteenth year of the Jazzfruit competition and each time we try to present the best young Czech and international talents performing the best jazz or, on the contrary, deepening the boundaries of what we consider as jazz. Not only the competitors, but also the competition itself we are constantly trying to change and push. This year we are therefore returning to the model of two categories – Czech and international. The finalists of the international category will not only receive a financial prize of 1000 EUR, but also a voucher from Kytary.cz (1st place 1000 EUR, 2nd place 400 eur, 3rd place 200 EUR) and the opportunity to perform in the Czech Republic. On the other hand, the winner of the Czech category will receive a concert in Paris, professional recording of a live performance, a concert in the Czech Republic, and the opportunity to play alongside the finalists of the international category. This will give them a chance to win the international category as well. The finals will take place in Jazz Dock club, Prague.

Jazzfruit 2023

PRINCIPLE OF THE COMPETITION

The competition is divided into two categories – Czech (Junior Locals) up to 26 years and International up to 35 years.
The International category is open to projects from Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and for the first time this year also Hungary.
Both classical jazz projects and those that are on the border of jazz can apply.

COMPETITION PROCESS

From all the entries received, an expert jury will select one best project from the Czech category and the three best projects from the international category, which will then go directly to the finals. This will take place on 27th of September 2023 in Prague. By submitting an application to the competition, the band commits to participate in the final if selected. Selected finalists will be notified of their progress by 20th of August 2023 via email and on the festival website.

FINALS

The three finalist projects will compete for 1000 EUR and a concert in Czechia on 27th of September 2023 in Jazz Dock club in Prague. The winner will then be decided by an expert jury and a vote of the audience.

This year’s International category winners are Searching for Home

This year’s Junior category winner is NIKA

This year’s finalists were

Searching for Home (DE)

Originally founded by two drummers in 2016 near Dresden, Searching for Home has evolved into a collective of eleven talented jazz fusion newcomers from all over Germany. The members, who studied at music universities in Berlin, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Dresden and have collaborated with many top artists such as Max Mutzke (Eurovision Song Contest 2004), Milan Svoboda and Samuel Rösch (The Voice of Germany 2018), bring a huge range of influences to the music. Together they create a unique sound somewhere between jazz, funk, pop and world music, including strong melodies, deep and groovy beats as well as various arrangements and improvisation.

Lina Ida Wutzler (vocals), Johannes Kellig (electric bass), Jeremias Wagler-Wernecke (electric guitar), Hakim Azmi (keyboards), Florian Anger (drums), Hannes Weidauer (trumpet), Markus Rethberg (saxophone), Johann Giesecke (trombone)

Ninja Episcopate (PL)

Ninja Episkopat is the illegitimate child of pandemonium, social media and the all-encompassing boredom we experienced in 2021. The sound they create is a fusion of electronic, contemporary and improvised music. The rich musical experience of the band members has produced a fruit in which subtlety and primitivism coexist. In this apparent contradiction they see the primal instinct that gives birth to all jazz music. Ninja Episkopat have performed on many stages in Poland, including, for example, the famous Soundrive festival in Gdansk.

Patrycja “Paczi” Wybrańczyk – drums, Mojżesz “Moses” Tworzydło – guitar, Alex Clov – saxophone

NIKA (CZ) – winner of Junior category

NIKA (Veronika Boráková), singer, songwriter and composer, released her mesmerizing debut Flesh & Soul in spring 2022. The twenty-one year old musician, this year a graduate of the Janáček Conservatory in composition, her work is a distinctive take on genres such as jazz, pop, folk and alternative. Her lyrics deal with personal relationships, the artifice of the world around us, the false appearance of perfection, themes of manipulation, hypocrisy and even physical and psychological violence.

Veronika Borakova (vocals, composition), Jonáš Bjolek (drums), Nicolas Gatto (bass guitar), Pavel Duda (keyboards)

PRIZES

1st place Czech category (junior locals): participation in the finals with finalists from the International category

Participation in the finals with finalists from the international category

The winner of the Czech category will get the opportunity to participate and win in the International category by means of a “wild card”.

Concert in Paris and Czechia

Performance in Paris-Prague Jazz Club. This prize is awarded in cooperation with the Czech centres. The performance in Czechia at Mladí ladí jazz or elsewhere.

Recording of live performance

Kytary.cz voucher

Help with band promotion

Media presentation with partner media.

1st place in the International category:

Financial reward of 1000 EUR

1000 EUR Kytary.cz voucher

Concert in the Czech Republic

Performance at Mladí ladí jazz or elsewhere.

Promotion

Newsletter and press release sent to media partners.

2nd place in the International category:

400 EUR Kytary.cz voucher

3rd place in the International category:

200 EUR Kytary.cz

2nd and 3rd place will receive a contribution for travel expenses.

14 years of the competition

“Compared to other competitions, Jazzfruit is unique primarily in the freedom we give to bands and projects – it is not necessary to come to the competition with an interpretation of a specific song or specific styles, nor do we set requirements for instrumentation or the need to present only their own work, even though it is an asset. We do not set boundaries, on the contrary we want to break them down in the perception of jazz,” says Jan Gregar on behalf of the festival organisers.

The Jazzfruit competition introduces the international audience to young Czech and foreign talents playing the best traditional jazz or, on the contrary, musical projects pushing the boundaries of this genre. Jazzfruit gives bands the opportunity to make their musical endeavours bear fruit. In recent years, the finalists of the competition have appeared alongside international stars at the Open Air concert Mladí ladí jazz on Charles Square, recorded their debut albums in the legendary Svárov studio, performed at the Jazz Dock club, played to Parisian audiences, or had professional video footage made for them as a basis for successful bookings. Last year, the final round took place in the foyer of Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design.

For the period of the competition’s existence, Igor Ochepovsky (CZ), Nicola Guida (IT), Ľubomír Gašpar Cimbal Project (SK), Silva Šírová Sextet (CZ), D.A.S. Trio (HU), Jay Delver (CZ), Uthando (CZ) and most recently Marcin Pater Trio (PL) have all taken first place in previous editions.

The winners of last year’s Jazzfruit 2022 are Marcin Pater Trio (PL) and Acoustic Needless (CZ).