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This article is published under an agreement between Armenpress and the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA)
The summer edition of Plovdiv Jazz Fest opened with a concert by pianist Tigran Hamasyan and his band at Orpheus Summer Cinema on Tuesday. The Plovdiv performance was part of Hamasyan’s European tour, BTA reports.
“It has been far too long since I last played in Bulgaria. Thank you to the organizers for making this meeting possible and to all of you for being here tonight,” Hamasyan said.
The pianist combines jazz improvisation, progressive rock and Armenian folk music. Born in Gyumri, Armenia, in 1987, he began playing at three and won the Montreux Jazz Festival piano competition at 16. In Plovdiv, he performed music from Manifeste, an album blending Armenian folk, progressive rock and choral mysticism.
Tickets for both summer concerts, featuring Hamasyan and saxophonist Jan Garbarek, were sold out, Plovdiv Jazz Fest Artistic Director Miroslava Katsarova said. “These concerts again made me believe there is enormous value in building Plovdiv’s jazz community,” Katsarova added.
Garbarek will perform at Orpheus Summer Cinema on July 31, 2026, with Indian percussionist Trilok Gurtu, German pianist Rainer Brüninghaus and Brazilian bassist Yuri Daniel.
The festival’s autumn edition will run in Plovdiv from November 6 to 8, 2026. The programme includes the Aaron Parks Trio, Elina Duni, the Shai Maestro Group, the Antonio Forcione and Cenk Erdogan Duo, and Rosen Zahariev with a tribute to Miles Davis.
Markovo Music Summer will follow in August with two garden concerts and a free concert in the village centre. Jazz and Baroque, featuring mezzo-soprano Svetlina Stoyanova, the Hristo Yotsov Trio and the Pilekadone Quintet, will take place on August 19, 2026. The Miroslava Katsarova Trio will perform on August 21, followed by Stefan Valdobrev and The Usual Suspects on August 22.
The summer and autumn programmes are supported by the Ministry of Culture and Plovdiv Municipality and form part of the 2026 National Cultural Calendar and the Plovdiv Cultural Calendar. BTA is the festival’s media partner.