We are excited to announce the 18th edition of the Jazz Appreciation Month festival in Montenegro, taking place from April 1st to 30th, 2025, under the theme “Jazz East & West.”
Our concert program will feature prominent jazz musicians from the East, particularly from Israel, Iran, and Azerbaijan, who have expanded their artistic reach and made significant contributions to jazz worldwide. These musicians will perform for the first time in Montenegro.
To kick off the festival, Israeli trumpet player Itamar Borochov, winner of the prestigious LetterOne Rising Stars Jazz Award (European edition, 2020), will perform with American pianist Rob Clearfield in three cities: Podgorica, Cetinje, and Bar (April 1-3). Borochov, a performer across four continents, is known for his unique blend of jazz and Middle Eastern influences.
Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Golnar Shahyar, originally from Iran, brought up in Canada and now based in Vienna, will present her original music in a trio with guitarist Mahan Mirarab and percussionist Amir Wahba. The trio will showcase a fusion of genres, mixing acoustic and electronic sounds with oriental influences, in Podgorica (April 22). As a duo, Golnar & Mahan will perform in Cetinje (April 23). Their music draws from contemporary jazz, Southwest Asian microtonal modes, polyrhythmic grooves, and European chamber music, offering a fresh and masterful approach to musical storytelling.
On April 30th, we will celebrate International Jazz Day with Azerbaijani pianist and composer Isfar Sarabski and his trio (Makar Novikov, double bass, and Amir Bresler, drums). Sarabski, an Honorary Artist of Azerbaijan, winner of the Montreux Jazz Festival competition (2009), and recipient of the Zirva State Prize (2010), has earned international recognition for his work.
We are also proud to promote new jazz talent from Podgorica, Montenegro: pianist Sara Jovović, who earned her diploma at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and holds a master’s degree from the Faculty of Music/Jazz Department in Belgrade (April 14).
In addition to concerts, our festival program includes the film cycle “Jazz on Film,” this year dedicated to Quincy Jones’ film scores (April 8 & 9). The films featured are from the 1960s: In the Heat of the Night and The Pawnbroker.
The art exhibition “Jazz Covers” will showcase jazz album covers and will be on display at the Cultural Information Center in Podgorica from April 8-15.
A special lecture, “Jazz and the Orient,” will be presented by professor Virgil Mihaiu, a distinguished jazz critic and writer, who is an ongoing contributor and collaborator on our educational programs (April 17).
We would like to express our gratitude to our partners and everyone who has contributed to organizing the largest jazz event in our country: KIC “Budo Tomović” with American Corner, the Secretariat for Culture of the Capital City, Royal Theatre Zetski dom, the Ministry of Culture and Media of Montenegro, the Embassy of Israel in Belgrade, the Embassy of Romania in Montenegro, and the International Adriatic School in Bar.
The complete schedule for this year’s JAM can be found at the link Events JAM 2025.
Come, experience jazz! We look forward to seeing you there.