Swingarija: Clarinetist Borut Bučar’s 90th Anniversary

Concert length: 90 mins

Clarinetist Borut Bučar “Bodo” was born in 1935 into a family of musicians in Ljubljana. In 1956, he played with The Seven Dixies and released his first recordings with the group on Radio Ljubljana. The band’s pianist was Jože Privšek, the soon-to-be legendary conductor with whom Bučar went on to build a fruitful collaboration. In 1958, he joined the Ljubljanski jazz ansambel, a jazz orchestra known for recording Yugoslavia’s pioneering jazz album. The band later played the first Yugoslav Jazz Festival in Bled. Over the following years, he performed with The Generals in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. He held a permanent position of the tenor and alto saxophone substitute for the RTV Ljubljana Big Band led by Bojan Adamič (then the Radio Ljubljana Dance Orchestra). As a solo clarinetist, he recorded on the Radio Ljubljana label with various ensembles, including the symphony orchestra and Big Band. He also played in various small combos. The stint in Switzerland lasted for a year and a half (1969–1970).

In 1984, he played at the jazz festival in Szombathely, Hungary – the gig resulted in an invitation to perform in the US. The triumphant tour of Los Angeles and Sacramento opened the doors to the global jazz scene for the Greentown Jazz Band, founded by Bučar in 1981. They toured the US for sixteen consecutive years, performing at various jazz festivals and clubs. During that period, fans snapped up more than ten thousand Greentown Jazz Band records. In four decades, this popular band played more than a thousand concerts and performed in virtually every European country.

With small combos, Borut Bučar played most jazz venues across Slovenia. Recently, he has collaborated with the Primož Grašič Quartet, releasing the album Čudoviti izdih (Beautiful Exhale). He has also recorded an LP with the Big Band and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra. 

Now in his nineties, Borut Bučar remains faithful to traditional jazz, blues, and swing. Particularly soulful are his takes on ballads from the treasure trove of jazz standards, and we look forward to hearing them again on the celebratory evening at Cankarjev dom.

The Swingatan musicians put a new spin on the noble tradition of Django Reinhardt, playing their signature version of swing with a European flavour. In collaboration with Swingatan, Borut Bučar has selected jazz standards from the swing era. Together with the Primož Grašič Quartet, Bučar will perform songs that marked the era of mainstream jazz and also feature on Bučar's latest album, Čudoviti izdih (Beautiful Exhale). The reconfigured Greentown Jazz Band will play standards in a contemporary makeover. The programme will conclude with a stunning rendition of Schubert's timelessly beautiful Ave Maria, performed in a jazz ballad arrangement.

Text by: Matej Venier
 

Line-ups:
Swingatan
Peter Ugrin, violin; Abel Modic, guitar; Mykhailo Levit, guitar; Zmago Štih, accordion; Nikola Matošić, double bass

Kvartet Primoža Grašiča / Primož Grašič Quartet
Primož Grašič, guitar; Blaž Jurjevčič, piano; Aleš Avbelj, bass; Gašper Bertoncelj, drums

Greentown Jazz Band
Dominik Krajnčan, trumpet; Marjan Petrej, trombone; Primož Grašič, guitar; Blaž Jurjevčič, piano; Aleš Avbelj, bass; Gašper Bertoncelj, drums

Programme:
Swingatan
Undecided (S. Robin, Ch. Shavers)
Jersey Bounce (T. Bradshaw, E. Johnson, B. Plater)
Oh, Lady, Be Good (G. & I. Gershwin)
Nuages (Dj. Reinhardt)
Sweet Georgia Brown (B. Bernie, M. Pinkard)
 
Kvartet Primoža Grašiča / Primož Grašič Quartet
Indiana (B MacDonald, J. F. Hanley)
Black and Blue (F. Waller, H. Brooks)
Honeysuckle Rose (F. Waller, A. Razaf)
Stranger on the Shore (A. Bilk)
Somebody Loves Me (G. Gershwin, B. MacDonald, B. DeSylva)

Greentown Jazz Band
Margie (C. Conrad, J. R. Robinson)
Lazy River (H. Carmichael, S. Arodin)
I Got Rhythm (G. Gershwin)
Sing, Sing, Sing (L. Prima)
Ave Maria (F. Schubert)