Jaka Kopač, alto saxophone

Boštjan Simon, tenor saksofon

Luigi Vitale, vibraphone

Miha Koren, double bass

Kristijan Krajnčan, drums

The Jaka Kopač and Boštjan Simon Summer Quintet will enrich the festival stage first with a treasure trove of compositions by Lee Konitz and Warne Marsh, and then the musicians will present a few more original compositions.

The music will meander between cool jazz, hard bop and contemporary jazz excursions into the world’s musics. The Italian/Slovenian rhythm section is made up of creative representatives of the middle generation of jazz players.

PASQUALE CALÒ QUARTET

Pasquale Calò, alto and tenor saxophone, keyboards, electronics
Salvoandrea Lucifora, trombon, electronics
Carlos Rodenas Borja, double bass, electric bass
Alessandro Campobasso, drums and percussion

The Puglian saxophonist, composer, arranger and conductor Pasquale Calò is also the founder of the Improvisers Collective and the eponymous artistic platform Mediterraneo Radicale, which is now active in several European countries. As a composer and conductor, he is active in ensembles such as the Torino-Milano Improvisers Orchestra, the Mediterraneo Radicale Orchestra, the European Improvisers Orchestra and the Orchestra Mediterranea degli Improvvisatori. He has collaborated with major artists in the fields of jazz, world, contemporary, improvised and electroacoustic music. Since 2006 he has performed on stages in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Hungary. He also has experience in conducting masterclasses and workshops in Brazil, Italy and Spain – in particular the ongoing urban workshops for improvised music Mediterraneo Radicale in Bari, Milan, Terlizzi and Turin.

Since 2012 he has been leading two research projects, Common Roots (research on the relationship between contemporary music, with a focus on the fields of radical improvisation, and the characteristic elements of folk music traditions) and Solo Saxophone (the artistic process has led to the production of four performances – Seven Mantras, Archè, Forbidden and Autocracy, which have been performed live in several European countries). In 2010, he also carried out a research on Programming Tools for Improvisers Ensemble, which looked into the elements of music programming for large improvisers ensembles, developed in several countries in Europe and Brazil, and culminated in the production of several orchestral works.

Calò will be presenting his quartet and project Where I Come From at SAXGO24. Where I Come From was born as a diary of the elements of folk music traditions that Pasquale Calò encountered in Italy, Spain, the Balkans, India, North Africa and Central and South America. Over the years, it has changed hands between many performers and has been performed by various ensembles. The work focuses on the concept of identity. It has led Pasquale to delve into its tradition in order to identify and develop in a new light those elements that we have inherited from this oldest part of our culture.

TIVON PENNICOTT QUARTET

Tivon Pennicott, saxophone
Idris Frederick, piano
Dean Torrey, double bass
Kenneth Salters, drums

For years, Tivon Pennicott has been transporting audiences to a higher level of consciousness. His latest single releases are the beginning of a new foundation on a canvas for genuine expression. A vocal performance with Tell Me Again (Dox Records, 2022), Let Our Hearts Decide (Dox Records, 2023), a melodic “feel good” with Faith in Grace (Dox Records, 2023), and a fiery performance of Tour Life (Dox Records, 2023) display his versatility and a renewed authenticity as an artist.

The highly sought saxophone player, composer and multi-instrumentalist is a key contributor to three GRAMMY Award winning albums, appearing on Esperanza Spalding’s disruptive recording Radio Music Society (Heads Up International, 2012), and Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit (Blue Note, 2013) and Take Me to the Alley (Blue Note, 2017). He has collaborated extensively with such visionaries as Roy Hargrove and Ari Hoenig, and performed at The Royal Albert Hall, the Berliner Philharmonie and Carnegie Hall. On screen, Pennicott appears regularly on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as a member of the Stay Human Band with Jon Batiste. His evolving sound is the result of a soulful, sophisticated foundation for groove he honed in the church, and a penchant for unbound harmonic exploration.

He has collaborated with such visionaries as Roy Hargrove and his RH Factor project, and Ari Hoenig as a core member of his band and key player on The Pauper & the Magician (AH-HA, 2016) and NY Standard (Fresh Sound Records, 2018). After having recorded with Kenny Burrell for his 2010 release Be Yourself on High Note Records, Pennicott continues to enjoy a decade- long association with the prolific guitarist and his Jazz Heritage All Stars. Touring the world with Porter, Pennicott has performed at iconic venues, including The Royal Albert Hall in London, the Berliner Philharmonie in Germany and Carnegie Hall in New York. On screen, he has become a fixture on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as a regular member of the Stay Human Band with Jon Batiste, an artist with whom he has played a week-long engagement at The Village Vanguard.

A Georgia native living in New York City, Pennicott earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. As a player, Pennicott expresses an evolving sound—the result of a soulful and sophisticated foundation for groove he honed in the church and through his Jamaican heritage, and a penchant for harmonic exploration that reflects the depth of his ear. Strong intention and receptive impulses that allow Pennicott to serve every situation—from Ari Hoenig’s rhythmic labyrinths to Al Foster’s resonating soundscapes— pervade his original compositions, as well.

While he has played an elemental role in advancing and transforming sounds of many innovative artists, Pennicott’s work as a leader is only beginning. In 2014, Pennicott released his debut recording Lover of Nature on New Phrase Records, a project that features equally curious musical minds: Mike Battaglia, Spencer Murphy and Kenneth Salters. As his career continues its upward trajectory, Pennicott most recently released his soul filling sophomore recording in the fall of 2020, Spirit Garden (self-released), featuring a 26-piece string orchestra alongside several combinations of a chord-less quartet. It is his most audacious endeavour, delightfully composing, orchestrating, and performing on his own musical canvas.

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ALL TOGETHER NOW | The final concert of the participants and teachers of the SAXGO24 Saxophone Summer School

Sandro Compagnon (France)
Xavier Larsson Paez (Spain)
Alessandro Malagnino (Italy)
Nikita Zimin (Russia)
Jaka Kopač (Slovenia)

The Saxophone Summer School traditionally concludes with a final concert by the participants of the classical and jazz saxophone workshops, offering young saxophonists the opportunity to perform on the concert stage. For many of the participants, this is also their first experience of performing at a festival venue, which is of great importance and invaluable in these days. Under the watchful eye and guidance of the workshop and master class teachers, participants will study for a joint performance during the Saxophone Summer School, very often forging unique personal bonds that continue and deepen from junior high school through the Conservatoire of Music and into the academic world.