Slovenian pianist and composer Kaja Draksler is a superb improviser, and is constantly thinking about innovation and the future of music—explorations that feel more salient than ever. Kaja is known for combining composition and improvisation, drawing from a variety of styles, places, and historical periods.

In this performance, Kaja duets with Slovenian singer/dancer Irena Tomazin, using music, voice, movement, and text in a Jazz Poetry performance like no other.

Kaja Draksler is a Slovenian pianist and composer. After her studies in the Netherlands (BA in jazz piano, MA in classical composition), she decided to stay in Amsterdam, where she became an active member of the improvisors scene, performing extensively all over Europe. Her main project is her Amsterdam-based Octet, which she formed in 2016. She is one of the founding members of the interdisciplinary group I/O and part of the internationally acclaimed Doek collective. As a composer, she has been commissioned by various international groups, ranging from vocal and chamber ensembles to big bands and orchestras. Kaja is interested in finding ways to merge the composition and (free) improvisation by working with different structures and musical logics. In the spirit of the Dutch jazz/improvised music legacy, she is drawn to the idea of erasing the stylistic and historical musical borders, and discovering personal expression and language through composition and improvisation.

Irena Tomazin completed her BA in philosophy at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. She is active as a maker and performer in the fields of experimental improvised music and movement theatre. She also teaches voice and movement workshops called ‘Moved by Voice’ nationally and abroad. She has released three albums: Crying Game; Taste of Silence; and Lump in the Throat. Her music, more specifically her sound experimentation, is an exploration of the landscapes of voice that include words, fragments of texts, (traditional) melodic singing, and other vocal techniques, including humming, clicking, and other sounds made with the mouth that pertain not (only) to the voice but also to the body. Irena performs solo and with a variety of ensembles and musicians. She has performed her solo or as an experimental vocalist at numerous national and international festivals. Her compositions for voice and body were published in the books Une exposition à être lue and Chorégraphier by Mathieu Copeland and performed in Geneva, Paris, and Madrid.

Jazz Poetry Month: Kaja Draksler ft. Dancer/Vocalist Irena Tomazin