Program

FRANK GAMBALE ALLSTAR GROUP /AU/

Grammy winner and long-time collaborator of Chick Corea, he is one of the most influential guitarists of his generation. He will perform in a chamber club setting at GES Clube with an all-star cast: Tom Schuman (Spyro Gyra) – keyboards, Gergo Borlai – drums, Martin Gudics – bass and special guest on vocals Boca Gambale.

Boca Gambale – charismatic singer with a strong expression and wide dynamic range
Gergo Borlai – world-renowned drummer known for his technical brilliance
Tom Schuman – keyboard virtuoso and member of the legendary band Spyro Gyra
Martin Gudics – talented bassist with a modern sound

VERONIKA HARCSA & BÁLINT GYÉMÁNT /HU/

Hungary's favourite jazz singer-songwriter Veronika Harcsa and guitar virtuoso Bálint Gyémánt have been working together since their studies at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. After having recorded several successful albums in various setups, they decided to continue in a minimalist duo setting, which inspired them to create a uniquely full bodied sound with nothing more than a guitar and a voice. Working with Berlin-based Traumton Records, they got exposed internationally, and their performances have been acclaimed by audiences of festivals and clubs in 25 countries worldwide. The duo's music is a delicate and tasteful mixture of contemporary jazz and improvised pop music, full of depth, inspiration and humour.

Veronika Harcsa – singer, songwriter

She graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 2008, and got her Master degree in 2014 at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Her current main project is a duo with guitar player Bálint Gyémánt. Their second duo album is released on Traumton Records in February 2017, followed by tours Europe-wide.

Veronika founded her first jazz band in 2005. Between 2006 and 2011 they released four albums, two of which reached the top of the vocal jazz charts at Tower Records, Japan. Being a uniquely versatile artist, she also featured two albums of the experimental electronic trio Bin-Jip as well as a musical and literary project based on works by the Hungarian avant-garde poet Lajos Kassák. In 2014 she became permanent artist in residence at the Valley of Arts Festival in Hungary, where she is responsible for the jazz program of the cultic ten days festival. In 2014-15 Veronika Harcsa ran a monthly concert series in Berlin, inviting guests from the local scene. Musicians such as David Friedman, Julia Hülsmann, Samuel Blaser or David Helbock accepted her invitation. The duo with Bálint Gyémánt was selected to showcase at the Jazzahead! 2015 European Jazz Meeting. Veronika Harcsa has recently been involved in classical music projects. She premiered in the leading role of Éléonore in Bohuslav Martinu's dadaist opera Les Larmes du Couteau at the Martinu Festival in Basel, directed by the Academy Award winner director Jiří Menzel.

Veronika has performed at festivals and clubs in 25 countries worldwide. She is often invited to participate in renowned projects, and has worked together with Erik Truffaz, the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Enrico Pieranunzi, Kris Defoort, Nicola Conte, Concerto Budapest and many others. She has affiliations to contemporary dance projects, theatre plays and films.

Awards:
- Best voice at Budapest Fringe Festival (2007)
- Fonogram Hungarian Music Awards: „Hungarian Jazz Album of the Year” – You Don’t Know It’s You (2009)
- 40th Hungarian Film Week: „Best Original Score” for Lost Times with Albert Márkos (2009)
- Fonogram Hungarian Music Awards: „Alternative album of the Year” – Bin-Jip: Enter (2011)
- BalconyTV video of the month: Bin-Jip - Noway Boy selected by the New York editors (2014)

Veronika Harcsa – vocal
Bálint Gyémánt - guitar

www.harcsaveronika.hu

VINCEN GARCÍA /ES/

Hailing from Valencia, Spain, Vincen García has established himself as one of the most prestigious and electrifying bassists on the global jazz and funk scene. With over 14 years of professional experience, Vincen has crafted a signature sound modern, dynamic, and irresistibly gritty that captivates audiences around the world.

Born into a family of musicians his mother a vocalist, his father a trumpeter, Vincen was immersed in music from day one. He picked up the bass in high school and, entirely self-taught, honed his craft into the powerhouse performance style he is known for today.

Vincen is among the most streamed bassists worldwide, drawing hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views across platforms. He has become a defining force in modern jazz and funk, performing at legendary stages such as the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), and Pori Jazz Festival (Finland). His debut album, Ventura, received critical acclaim and captivated audiences in cities across the globe.

In addition to his solo work, Vincen tours with international heavyweights including Cory Wong and Jesús Molina, and has collaborated with artists such as Nuno Bettencourt, Steve Vai, and Eric Gales, further solidifying his status as a global ambassador of modern bass artistry In early 2026, he released his highly anticipated second album, VIVACE, accompanied by a world tour spanning every continent. Undoubtedly, it is one of the funk-jazz albums of the year With his unique blend of technical mastery, infectious energy, and genre-defining innovation, Vincen García is not just a bassist he is one of Spain’s most influential artists on the international stage, shaping the sound of modern jazz and funk for a new generation

www.vincengarcia.com

DAN BARTA & ROBERT BALZAR TRIO /CZ/

Dan Bárta & Robert Balzar Trio represent one of the most distinctive combinations of the Czech jazz scene. Charismatic singer Dan Bárta and the trio around double bassist Robert Balzar have been collaborating since the turn of the millennium and during that time have created a unique musical world on the border between jazz, soul, rock and pop.

Robert Balzar Trio is one of the stalwarts of Czech jazz. The formation was formed in 1996 and during its career has collaborated with many prominent domestic and international musicians. With Dan Bárta, they recorded the award-winning album Theyories in 2010, which brought original jazz interpretations of songs by The Police, Björk, Jamiroquai, Led Zeppelin and Joni Mitchell.

Their joint concerts are built on exceptional musicality, improvisation and strong communication between the musicians. The result is modern and at the same time extremely lively jazz that can appeal not only to jazz listeners.

Dan Bárta – vocals
Robert Balzar – double bass
Vít Křišťan – piano
Kamil Slezák – drums

www.danbarta.cz

DIRTY LOOPS /SE/

www.dirty-loops.com

TOMMY EMMANUEL, CGP - Living In The Light Tour /AU/

Hailed as “one of the best acoustic guitarists in the world” by NPR’s World Cafe, Tommy Emmanuel got his start at the age of six, when he first began touring his native Australia with his family’s band. As a teenager, he earned a reputation as a highly sought after sideman and session player, and by his early twenties, Emmanuel was playing on chart-topping hits and performing with acts like Air Supply and Men at Work. Inspired in part by his hero, Chet Atkins (who would later become a friend, mentor, and collaborator), Emmanuel stepped out on his own as a solo artist in 1979, releasing the first in a string of acclaimed instrumental albums that would make him an unlikely celebrity in his home country and beyond. In the decades that followed, he would go on to headline everywhere from the Sydney Opera House to Carnegie Hall; tour with luminaries like Eric Clapton and John Denver; win a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement; perform for a televised audience of more than two billion at the Sydney Olympics; and collaborate with a who’s who of fellow guitar greats, including Les Paul, Mark Knopfler, Joe Walsh, Richard Thompson, Jason Isbell, and Billy Strings.

Recorded in just four days, Emmanuel’s latest album, Living In The Light, stands as the most daring—and most rewarding—collection in the globetrotting fingerpicker’s remarkable catalog, fusing his pop, jazz, classical, and roots influences into a virtuosic masterwork as exhilarating as it is intimate.

Support act: Frano Livingston /HR/

FRANO LIVINGSTON

A young guitar virtuoso, composer and musician whose journey began on stage alongside Tommy Emmanuel.
Frano Livingston, born Frano Živković, is one of the distinctive voices of today’s fingerstyle guitar scene. He started playing guitar as a young child and gave his first solo concert at just five years old. From the very beginning, he has combined remarkable technical virtuosity with a strong sense of melody and his own distinctive musical voice. Frano first met Tommy Emmanuel and shared the stage with him at the age of just eight. He later performed with Tommy in prestigious concert halls across Europe and, in 2016–2017, joined his German tour as a special guest. Over the years, Frano has also appeared in support of artists such as Al Di Meola, 2Cellos, John Scofield, Norah Jones, Kiefer Sutherland and Zucchero. His music blends virtuoso fingerstyle guitar with blues, jazz, rock and original compositions. In 2025, he released his third studio album, The Graduation, featuring music entirely composed, arranged and recorded by Frano himself.
And there is one particularly special connection between Frano and Tommy Emmanuel: during the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville in 2018, Tommy Emmanuel gave Frano his iconic guitar, “Yellow Mouse.”
On November 11, their musical paths will meet once again — this time on the stage of the International Jazz Festival in Košice.

www.frano.tv