A tribute to a hero whose life was music

Festival dedicated to preserving the memory of the Budva jazz trumpeter and trombonist Nikola Mim Mitrović "Mimo's Jazz Fest" begins tonight in Budva, and the four-day event brings a rich concert and educational program.

Organized by the NGO Feral Society from Budva, one of the goals is the development of the jazz scene in Montenegro, as well as encouraging young musicians to become more familiar with this musical direction.

The festival will be officially opened tonight at 21 pm in the area between the churches in the Old Town of Budva, with a performance by students of ŠOMO Budva and the Budva City Music Orchestra, followed by a concert for the audience. Vlatka Stefanovski with his trio.

From May 21st to 23rd, a masterclass will be held at the Modern Gallery in the Old Town for students of music schools from Montenegro, led by Jure Pukl, Jorge Vistel, Karim Blal, Miloš Čolović, Šule Jovović and Slaven LjujićAs part of the festival, on May 22nd at 20 pm, a panel titled “Positive Vibrations of Migrant Jazz” will be held at the Modern Gallery, featuring: Maja Popovic, Ljujić, Pukl, Vistel, Blal, Jovović and Čolović, with a discussion about contemporary jazz trends and the experiences of musicians from different cultural backgrounds, while the final evening of the festival on May 23 will bring a performance by masterclass participants, followed by a concert by the MIMO Sextet consisting of Jure Pukl, Jorge Vistel, Karim Blal, Miloš Čolović, Šule Jovović and Slaven Ljujić, on the same stage between the churches in the Old Town.

"Nikola Mimo Mitrović was an exceptional artist, but at the same time a very modest and noble man. His life's idea and mission were the promotion of jazz music and working with young people, to which he dedicated his entire life. There were other individuals and organizations that did similar projects, and the NGO Feral has been continuously implementing programs dedicated to him and his idea for ten years," she told Vijesti. Itana Lalović, one of the organizers of this year's festival.

NASTAVILI MIMOV PUT

From the very beginning, the NGO Feral has strived to continue what the musician started - the promotion of jazz and the education of young people - through events dedicated to Mim.

"From the beginning, the festival had three important segments. The first is the involvement of young people through music workshops, concerts, and in some editions, a competition program. We brought eminent musicians from the country and the world to convey knowledge to young people and bring them closer to a different view of jazz music. The second segment refers to performances by jazz artists, among whom were Mim's friends, but also established musicians from Montenegro, the region, and this year from the world. In this way, we continued his desire for jazz music to be heard on the streets of Budva. The third segment was always dedicated to conversations. Sometimes they were about Mim himself, through the memories of his friends and associates, and sometimes about jazz in general, through broader topics related to music, the scene and its development," emphasizes Lalović, explaining how important it is for the festival to be not only a concert-based one, but also a space for learning and exchanging experiences:

“The segment of investing in young musicians is extremely important to us, as is the possibility of at least partially inspiring and encouraging them to continue developing in that direction. That is why this year a large part of the program is dedicated to young people. We will have a concert by students of the Music School who will perform with the Budva City Music. They have been preparing arrangements for months that were made by Dr. Ivan Ilić, a famous arranger and pianist of the Big Band, with whom we have collaborated before. This concert is coordinated by our colleague Mile Vejnovic from the NGO Feral and we believe that it is a nice way for younger students to get closer to jazz and become familiar with this musical direction," emphasizes Lalović, adding that in addition, there will be music workshops, whose artistic direction is in charge of Slaven Ljujić, who joined the festival this year.

"Slaven has gathered a great team of European and international jazz artists and professors who will hold workshops for children from Budva and all over Montenegro over the course of three days, and prepare the most successful ones for the final performance. Our focus is on education and the desire to leave a mark and give encouragement to young people, because that was Mim's mission. On the other hand, the audience can also expect top concerts and big regional names. Tonight, between the churches in the Old Town, we will listen to Vlatko Stefanovski, a pioneer who combined jazz, ethno-jazz, rock and Balkan traditional music in an authentic way. We are particularly pleased that he will open the festival and thus also mark ten years of work of the NGO Feral," adds Lalović.

FESTIVAL DEDICATED TO MIME PRESERVES THE SPIRIT OF THE CITY

The Montenegrin capital of tourism is also recognized in the region for its commercial music content during the season, but the NGO Feral believes that it is important to also cultivate programs that preserve the spirit of the city, its identity and cultural tradition.

"During the summer season, Budva has a large number of events and concerts, but the focus of Feral has always been on programs that follow the spirit of the city and its identity. Our organization's manifesto states that we want to create a future that relies on the past. And Budva's past is not just the last two or three decades, but more than two and a half thousand years of rich tradition and culture, which many visitors today are not even aware of. Our mission is to remind both our fellow citizens and the audience of what Budva really is and what values ​​it carries. That is why we try to organize events that have a soul and that return a recognizable identity to the city, relying on the Mediterranean spirit, togetherness and lasting cultural values ​​that have always been a part of Budva," emphasizes Lalović, emphasizing that this is the reason why the NGO Feral organizes events that have an authentic stamp and that, in addition to entertainment, also have cultural and educational significance.

Preserving the memory of Mimo Mitrović, but also the values ​​he promoted throughout his life, is one of the most important segments of the festival that bears his name.

"Mimo was a man who spread the fame of his work to the European and world jazz scenes, and many jazz musicians came to Budva precisely because of him. At the time when he started playing music, there was practically no jazz scene in Budva, which is why it can rightly be said that he was one of its founders. He was also a member of the Budva City Music, and there is an interesting story that he and his friends, after Sunday lunch, would go out to the windows and call out to each other while playing their instruments. Such moments are today part of the city's intangible cultural heritage and part of Budva's identity was built on them. That is why it is important for us to preserve not only the memory of him as an artist through this festival, but also the spirit of togetherness, love for music and dedication to young people that Mimo carried throughout his life," Lalović points out.

THE PROGRAM IS TAKEN TO A HIGHER LEVEL

This year, the team organizing the festival has been joined by Montenegrin drummer Slaven Ljujić, who is the artistic director of the sextet that will close the four-day event with a concert on May 23rd on the stage between the churches in the Old Town, as well as jazz workshops that will be held during the festival.

"Mimo was a noted musician in Sweden, Europe, but also in the Balkans through his work with the Marković-Gut Sextet. We are honored that Šule Jovović, who had the opportunity to collaborate with Mimo, as well as myself, are participating in this project and that we will have the opportunity to play. I am honored to be the artistic director of Mimo's Sextet and the jazz workshops that are held as part of the festival, and I wanted to pay tribute to Mimo by bringing strong, established names from the European jazz scene. In previous years, mostly colleagues from Serbia came, and since Mimo belonged to the European jazz scene, I believed that the program should be raised to a higher level and dedicated to him a serious concert with world-famous names," emphasizes Ljujić.

Playing with him and Jovović in Mimo's Sextet will be Jure Pukl on saxophone, Jorge Vistel on trumpet, Karim Blal on piano and Miloš Čolović on double bass.

"It's an interesting combination. Jorge is from Cuba, lives in Paris, Jure is from Slovenia and is also established in New York, Karim works between Paris and Italy. Through the invitation of the NGO Feral to organize programs and workshops, I wanted to draw additional attention to Mim's work so far, both pedagogically and musically," adds Ljujić.

He points out that colleagues coming from outside were not familiar with the character and work of Mim Mitrović.

“It was a pleasure for me to meet them, and it is now a great pleasure for them to have the opportunity to play in honor of such a musician. I had the idea to contact Jure and Jorge, who are famous trumpeters and lecturers, and to introduce them to Mimo’s work. From the moment they realized who Mimo was, when they heard him play and watched his recordings, they enthusiastically accepted to be part of this project. Mimo belonged to the older generation that developed jazz in Europe at the end of the last century, so we all got extra adrenaline and a desire to work on this project,” Ljujić is honest.

DEDICATED TO MUSIC AND JAZZ

It is interesting that Mimo played several wind instruments, and was self-taught. His musicality and the fact that he managed to build a recognizable expression without formal education speak volumes about his talent and attitude towards music.

"Mimo was a multi-instrumentalist when it comes to wind instruments. He played trumpet, horn, flute and valve trombone. His musicality was most evident in jazz ballads, where we could even hear him sing. As someone who did not initially come from a musical background, because Mimo graduated from the Faculty of Technology with a degree in chemical engineering, and as someone who only decided to fully dedicate himself to music and jazz in his later years, for me he is a hero because of the dedication he had and the way music was his life. Therefore, his musicality and talent are unquestionable, not only when it comes to jazz, but music in general," explains Ljujić, who does not hide the fact that he is proud of the choice of compositions that he will play with the sextet.

"Given that Šule, Miloš and I are familiar with Mimo's work, his mission and everything he left behind, it was up to me to introduce it to Jorge, Jur and Karim, which I successfully did. In this way, we selected original compositions by the five of us that we will perform, which belong to the sensibility that Mimo had in his jazz performance. In addition, we will also play some jazz standards that Mimo liked to perform, and which we also enjoy playing. The program will also include the composition 'Mimo od Budve', written by Duško Gojković. A special segment will also be a Montenegrin traditional song covered in a jazz arrangement, which will be a surprise for the concert audience," was all he wanted to reveal about the program.

The event was supported by the Municipality of Budva and the Tourist Organization of the Municipality of Budva, and admission to all programs is free.

They continued Mim's mission.

During the festival, a masterclass program and panel dedicated to Mim Mitrović will be organized, with a special focus on the inclusion of young musicians who, through education and performances, are given the opportunity to take the stage, but also to become acquainted with the work of artists who have left a strong mark and whose legacy must not be forgotten.

"The most important link of this year's festival, in addition to the concert dedicated to Mim, are the workshops that will last three days. My heart is full that we have managed to provide quality and intensive work with children, which will be attended by a large number of participants. In this way, Mim's mission is also conveyed, because he was an extremely dedicated educator, especially in the last years of his life. I myself had the privilege of attending his lectures as a high school student, and the way he worked with young people left a strong impression on me. This is precisely the most important segment of spreading his ideas and developing the jazz scene. I am proud as the artistic director of the sextet and workshops that I have managed to bring together quality educators and top musicians, so that during the three days the participants will have the opportunity to learn through different approaches and lectures, which can mean a lot to them in their further musical development," Ljujić is sure.