The City of Smederevo, Serbian capital twice in the past, welcomed this 2019 year its first jazz festival. And it's not just any festival! The organizers opted for quality, so the program was made only for two days and four groups — two from Belgrade and two from the hosting city. A honour of opening the festival, was awarded to the “Sound of the Balkans”, an extraordinary group of young artists from Smederevo, for which a compose was Veljko Nenadić, a winner of highly acclaimed composition awards in Europe and the World.

Here they are with a teacher from the music school, Romana Repustić-Nikolić, who manage to develop and harmonize their talents during schooling.


Before we start the report from the concert, let's see how the ambience of the Small Fort of Smederevo Fortress looks like, and let’s learn at least a part of its very rich history…

Another moment for history — Wednesday, July 24, 2019, was the opening day of the first jazz festival “Fortress Music”.

And finally, the “Sound of the Balkans” on the stage…

Due to their commitment to the music academy, they are currently performing as a trio, but members of the original band are involved whenever possible. And they are…

Veljko Nenadić, composer and pianist.

Neda Nikolić, wind instruments (flute, duduk, bagpipes…) and she is also a speaker on the stage.

Denis Mahmutović, percussion.

And, for this occasion, returnee to the old ensemble, Magdalena Mladenović, vocal.

The stone walls of the ancient fortress provide fantastic acoustics and give a unique sound experience. I hope that you will one day have a chance to come to Smederevo and hear it for yourself.

And at the end, of course, a bow to the exhilarated audience…