ANDREA MIRČESKA Lullaby for Lunatics
ANDREA MIRČESKA – bass, vocal
NINOSLAV SPIROVSKI – tenor and soprano sax
BLAGOJČE TOMЕVSKI – bass clarinet
FILIP BUKRŠLIEV – guitar
DRAGAN TEODOSIEV - drums
Andrea Mircheska is a double bass player born in 1998 and an active performer on the contemporary and improvisational scene in Macedonia. Her work includes Macedonian ensembles such as Taxi Consilium, Dina Jashari, Pijan Slaveј, Zarina Prvasevda and many more, alongside active involvement in the development of the Macedonian alternative scene. In 2019, Mircheska received the “Zlaten Oriks” award for Best Young Jazz Musician. Her work appears on around ten releases, with music released through labels such as SJFRecords, PMGJazz and Aksioma. “Lullaby for Lunatics” is her first project combining composition and improvisation, bringing together different sonic worlds. The repertoire consists mainly of original compositions, complemented by reimagined pieces that have left a deep mark on her musical taste, including “Lonely Woman” by Ornette Coleman and “Freedom” by Charles Mingus. The compositions are developed through double bass, piano and vocals, while the rest of the band reshapes the material through their own instruments, with improvisation, listening and trust becoming an important part of the process.
NDUDUZO MAKHATHINI
Nduduzo Makhathini – piano
Dalisu Ndlazi – bass
Lukmil Perez - drums
Nduduzo Makhathini is a South African composer, pianist and scholar. His sound is shaped by the folk music of the Zulu people, with a melodic lineage of Abdullah Ibrahim and pianistic influences from McCoy Tyner. At the moment, he is one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary jazz. Makhathini built an extensive catalogue independently and through different labels before making his international breakthrough and signing with Blue Note in 2020. Since then, he has released four albums through Blue Note, collaborating with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Shabaka Hutchings, WDR Big Band and Black Coffee, to name just a few. For Makhathini, a performance is a ritual that demands real engagement from the audience. With that in mind, he continues to fill concert venues and festivals around the world. His latest album, “The Myth We Choose”, released in June this year and co-produced with his son Thingo, merges spirit-seeking American jazz with the most distinctive traits of South African jazz and the galvanizing rhythms of Afro-Cuban music, taking his music further into the contemporary sounds of the modern jazz world. With a voice that is unmistakably his own, Makhathini will bring his music and its spiritual dimension to the stage of the 45th Skopje Jazz Festival.