In celebration of the World Day of Romani Language, Cankarjev dom hosts Amala, a band led by renowned composer, musician and musicologist Imer Traja Brizani. Marking the 30th anniversary of the Amala ensemble and the 46th anniversary of Brizani’s body of work, the concert features the group’s new album, the vinyl release Amala 30, released on the Nika Records label.

The programme draws on Brizani’s original compositions and timeless Romani classics in his distinctive arrangements. The concert is divided into two parts. The acoustic set transports listeners into an intimate soundscape featuring the archaic sounds of the oud, sarod, flute, two clarinets, cello and ethnic percussion. The electric set unleashes the full dynamic of a jazz-fusion groove, the interplay of drums and Latino percussion, and fiery flamenco.

Artists: 
Amala: Imer Traja Brizani, vocals, bass guitar, composer and project leader; Armando Brizani, piano; Uroš Rakovec, acoustic and electric guitar; Anja Burnik, flute; Žiga Fabbro, saxophone, clarinet; Tomi Purič, drums; Mirsad Dalipi, percussion; Dr Bernardo Brizani, cello
Vocals: Mateja Zwitter, Ivana Honsič, Jana Gamsar and Miha Vanič
Featuring: Oto Pestner, vocals, Violeta Tomić, recitation, Domen Lorenz, violin, Izidor Erazem Grafenauer, flamenco guitar; Ngadhnjim Istrefi, clarinet 

Conducted by Prof. Dr Ivan Šprajc, an archaeologist and research fellow at ZRC SAZU (Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts), this lecture will address the archaeological expeditions he has been leading for the past three decades in the heart of the Yucatán Peninsula. They have uncovered numerous previously undocumented archaeological sites, including major urban centres. This year, his team continued its research in the central part of the Mexican state of Campeche, where a final major gap in the archaeological map of the Maya cultural region has recently been filled. 

Using laser scanning (LiDAR) data, they first discovered a previously unknown site which, while not particularly large, surprised them with a series of relief-carved stone monuments on which some depictions and hieroglyphic inscriptions are still discernible. On previous expeditions, the team had relied on old logging trails – which, though abandoned and overgrown, could be cleared to allow off-road vehicles to reach their target locations. This time, however, there were no such trails in the wider vicinity of the site, so they named it Minanbé, which in Yucatec Maya translates as “No Path”. The second site, also surveyed this season, lies relatively close to a populated area and was known to the locals, who call it El Yesal; however, neither its details nor its extent were known. Only now have the scientists realised that El Yesal is one of the largest Maya cities in the Yucatecan lowlands. The talk will focus on the fieldwork, highlighting the distinctive features of both sites.
 

Running time: 90 minutes 

Robert Stillman, saxophone; Chelsea Carmichael, saxophone; tbc, cello; Tom Herbert, double bass; Tom Skinner, drums 

Running time: 90 minutes 

Tomaž Gajšt, trumpet, Fluegelhorn; Boštjan Simon, saxophone, modular synth; Andrej Kobal, live electronics; Šimun Matišić, vibraphone, drums, percussion; Kristijan Krajnčan, cello, drums, percussion

Alchymia XXI, or Alchemy for the 21st Century, a new project by multi-instrumentalist and composer Kristijan Krajnčan, brings the ancient concept of alchemy into dialogue with vibrant contemporary jazz. At the heart of the work is alchemy as an art of transformation. Rather than magic, however, this transformation is understood as a concrete shift in perspective, listening and awareness. It is about recognising the mystical in everyday life: in the roots of a tree breaking through asphalt, in the eyes of a child still free from prejudice, and in the warmth of the sun caressing our cheek through the power of nuclear fusion.

Krajnčan drew inspiration from a variety of worlds: the images and symbols of alchemy, the experience of shamanic rituals in the primeval forest, the electronic manipulation of instruments, the stirring of buried emotions, and the folk heritage of Resia and Istria, expressed through their microtonal musical traditions.

“It’s human to feel pain. But what matters is what you do with that pain,” says Krajnčan. “Sometimes I imagine that my tombstone would read: He lived like an alchemist. Whatever he touched experienced an improvement, if only by a fraction. That’s the ideal I strive for.”

Running time: 90 minutes 

Sylvie Courvoisier, piano; Ned Rothenberg, klarinet, alto saxophone, shakuhachi, shakuhachi; Nasheet Waits, drums

 Running time: 90 minutes 

Amirtha Kidambi, vocal, harmonium, electronics; Matt Nelson, soprano saxophone, electronics; Alfredo Colon, tenor saxophone; Nick Dunston, double bass; Jason Nazary,  drums, electronics 

Led by Amirtha Kidambi, Elder Ones blend free jazz, classical avant-garde and electronic music with the riotous energy of ‘spiritual punk’. The line-up brings together an inspired configuration of musicians: vocalist, composer and keyboardist Amirtha Kidambi (who has toured Slovenia as a member of Mary Halvorson’s bands and also performs with Darius Jones); saxophonists Matt Nelson (Battle Trance, Flying Luttenbachers) and Alfredo Colon (Henry Threadgill, Moses Sumney); bassist Nick Dunston (Marc Ribot, Vijay Iyer, Mary Halvorson, Tyshawn Sorey, Moor Mother, JACK Quartet); and drummer Jason Nazary (Anteloper, Saint Abdullah). The figures listed in brackets are not merely illustrious names, but forebears – the elder ones – whose omnipresence can be felt throughout the musicians’ work.

The ensemble’s instrumentation, undergirded by the drone of the Indian pump organ harmonium, creates an intricate contemporary soundscape for Amirtha’s voice to traverse – invariably engaged, articulate and ready to confront the injustices and consequences of -isms and systemic oppression.

Hindu devotional music – bhajan, accompanied by harmonium – forms the soundtrack to Amirtha’s childhood. Born to Indian parents, she grew up on the US West Coast, where she encountered the Carnatic musical tradition through dance as well. It is from here – from the body – that her rhythmic language truly stems. She explores the complexity of her identity – her experience as an Indian American – through an artistic expression shaped by the theory and practice of singing in contemporary classical ensembles, experimental rock bands on the New York DIY scene, and jazz. The concert marks her Slovenian debut as the leader of her own ensemble.
 

 Running time: 90 minutes 

Alex Sipiagin, trumpet; Jaka Kopač, alto saxophone; Joe Locke, vibraphone; Joshua Ginsburg, double bass; Vladimir Kostadinović, drums


Vienna-based Serbian drummer Vladimir Kostadinović, who has lived and worked in the Austrian capital for many years, is regarded as one of the most sought-after drummers of his generation. His musicality, responsiveness and finely controlled dynamics, combined with an in-depth knowledge of both the jazz tradition and contemporary musical expression, have earned him the respect of audiences, critics and fellow musicians alike. An active presence on the international jazz scene for more than two decades, Kostadinović has performed with some of the genre’s greatest icons, including Benny Golson, John Patitucci, George Garzone, Eddie Henderson, Kevin Hays, Duško Gojković and Gregory Porter. Frequent invitations from Slovenian jazz musicians have led to collaborations with Igor Matković and Marko Črnčec, as well as Jaka Kopač, who will join the line-up for the Ljubljana concert alongside legendary vibraphonist Joe Locke, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin and bassist Josh Ginsburg.

The quintet will present Iris, the third album of original compositions that Kostadinović has recorded as a bandleader at the renowned Samurai Studios in New York City, featuring what he himself describes as a “jazz NBA team” – Sipiagin, saxophonists Chris Potter and Ben Wendel, vibraphonist Locke, pianist Geoff Keezer and bassist Matt Brewer. The original compositions reveal a modern, quintessentially New York jazz style that resonates with Kostadinović, infused – particularly in the emotional, lyrical passages – with a Balkan melodic sensibility. “Kostadinović doesn’t sound like a European jazz drummer; he sounds very American, but with a touch of something different,” wrote a critic in Modern Drummer, praising his musicality and the ensemble dynamics of the studio band.

Released in 2025 on the Dutch label Criss Cross Jazz, Iris was named one of the Best Jazz Albums of the Year by DownBeat magazine.

Laeticia Hormuth, soprano 
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Eva Kokot, soprano

How can we persevere in a time when progress has stalled, when the ghosts of the past weigh heavily upon us, and when no resolution is in sight? To persist – not as a moral stance or a capitalist imperative, but rather as a way of opening the possibility of a new temporality from which it may become possible to rethink our own Zeitgeist.

The new book On Persistence by Canadian philosopher and comparatist Rebecca Comay bears witness to such persistence in the face of the ruins of the past, which keep us in a state of perpetual mourning – a deadlock that may perhaps be broken not through action, but through the concept itself. Rebecca Comay is the author of several exceptional monographs, most notably Mourning Sickness: Hegel and the French Revolution (Stanford University Press, 2011) and The Dash – The Other Side of Absolute Knowing (co-authored with Frank Ruda; MIT Press, 2018).

Dr Mirt Komel, philosopher and writer at the Department of Cultural Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, will be in conversation with the guest. The event is organised in collaboration with the Aufhebung International Hegelian Association.

Rebecca Comay is professor of philosophy and comparative literature, a core member of the Literature and Critical Theory Program (Victoria College), and an associate member of the Germanic Languages and Literatures Department and the Centre for Jewish Studies. Her research interests include Hegel and 19th century German philosophy; theatricality; Marx and Marxism (including Frankfurt school); psychoanalysis; contemporary French philosophy; trauma and memory; iconoclasm and destruction of art; contemporary art and art criticism; Proust and Beckett. She is currently working on a book on the temporality of deadlines, as well as a project on dramaturgy and dialectic.
 

We will be joined by Blaž Šef, Jasmina Jerant and a surprise guest.