Jazz Concert with Austrian Musicians HARRI STOJKA and his Band

Hanoi: Sat 23 Nov 2013, 8 pm Youth Theatre — HCMC: Mon 25 Nov 2013, 8 pm HCMC Conservatory of Music

From Austrian Embassy: You are invited to a concert by one of Austria’s greatest jazz musicians – HARRI STOJKA and his band. The program is within the framework of EU Music Festival 2013. Harri Stojka: Gipsy Jazz Guitarist – Infectious Gipsy Swing. One of Austria’s greatest jazz musicians has musical roots that run deep: He comes from a Roma Gipsy family that surrounded him with rhythm and harmony before he could even talk.

Line up/ ban nhạc: Harri Stojka: guitar Claudius Jelinek: guitar Herbert Berger: clarinet Gidon Öchsner: rhythm guitar Peter Strutzenberger: doublebass Austrian jazz-guitarist Harri Stojka began his career in 1970 together with Jano Stojka at the Arena in Vienna. Soon after that the young self-taught musician joined Karl Ratzer’s band “Gipsy Love” as bass player and realized himself as guitarist in Peter Wolf’s “Objectiv Truth Orchestra”. In 1978 he founded the “Harri Stojka Express”, which was the only Austrian band among acts like Jimmy Cliff, Eric Burden, Van Morrisson and Carlos Santana at the Open Air Festival at the “Wiener Prater”. Carlos Santana said backstage about Harri, “that’s how one should be able to play guitar”. This was followed by an invitation to legendary Jazzfestival Montreux, where Harri Stojka played alongside Larry Coryell at the “guitar summit”. This performance, played in front of expert audience, where also fellow world class musicians paid tribute to him, was the breakthrough for Harri. The LP “Live at Montreux” offers a nice recording of the beginning of this impressive world career. Since then Harri Stojka has been turning into one of the most important Austrian jazz musicians. Invitations to jazz festivals as headliner followed: Paris, Anger, Prague, London, Barcelona, New Delhi, New York, Syracuse, Montreux and Detroit. With Harri Stojka’s band European Jazz was heard for the first time in China and India. On all his travels he tells the fascinated audience about him being Austrian Roma and thus plays a part in Austria getting popular abroad. In 2006 “A Tribute To Swing” was re-released at ZOHO Music in New York. In Germany it was nominated for the German Music critics prize within only a week. With this project Harri Stojka and band gave two concerts at the Jazzfestival in Montreux, Kahmoro Festival, Sziget Festival Budapest, the famous Django Reinhardt Memorial Festival in Augsburg, Graz Jazz Festival and the jazz festivals in Jakarta and Yogjjakarta. Harri Stojka has achieved something many would wish for – creating his own guitar style and being recognized as Harri Stojka after only a few notes played. What makes Harri Stojka unique is the mixture of virtuosity and blues feeling, the special drive, phrasing and sound of his gipsy jazz acoustic guitar. His home can be found in many music styles, from pop to avant-garde jazz, from gipsy to be-bop, from hard rock to heavy metal. Through his diversity and the consistent further development of his music, Harri Stojka has influenced many Austrian guitarists and always supports young musicians. Free tickets can be collected from Tue 19 Nov 2013 at 2 pm at the Goethe-Institut and from Thu 21 Nov 2013 from 9:00 to 16:00 at Austrian Embassy and will be handed out on a first come first serve basis at: Hanoi Austrian Embassy: 8 floor, 53 Quang Trung. Tel.: 04- 39 43 30 50 Goethe Institut: 56 – 58 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Tel: 04 – 3 7 34 2251/52 HCMC Austrian Honorary Consulate: 27A Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Da Kao Ward, Dist 1, Tel: 08 3827 5766 Goethe Institut: 18, Str.1, Do Thanh, Ward 4, Dist 3, Tel: 08 36009587