Tomislav Lovro Pavleka: The first man of the Last Minute Open Jazz Festival

18.07.2023.

Slaviša Srdić

Bale in Istria will become the central place for high-level jazz fans in Croatia during four weekends this summer.

The presentation of this year's festival

Tomislav, as a key figure in one of the most important jazz festivals in Istria and Croatia, can you give us an idea of what visitors can expect this year at the Last Minute Open Jazz Festival?

We decided to lighten up the festival a bit, because it's challenging to spend four consecutive nights without enough sleep and at the same time take care of the musicians, make sure they've eaten, drunk, rested, if they have headaches, if they've taken their medication, if they've arrived and where they've parked. Now we do that for one day, then again later. Organizing such a festival is very challenging and very expensive. Kamene priče is not only a festival and a jazz club, but also a superb hospitality experience that requires daily attention. This year we are full of surprises, such as Tomo Ricov at the opening and Ana Uršula Najev at Kamene priče, a memorial to Mladen Baraković and a concert for his soul. We will remember many of those who cannot be with us. Last Minute Open Jazz Festival, I repeat, means that it is the last minute to save music and art in general.

Innovation in the festival format

The festival has undergone a significant transformation in its format. How did the innovative idea of a Saturday concert series during the summer come about?

Times and people change. Today it is difficult to maintain concentration for long periods of time. Everything is reduced to a usable form that people can accept. New people are different. They are wired with an electric brain that determines their measurements and goals. It is certainly good for us and it is much easier with these people than with those who used to simply observe the world critically.

A journey through the festival's history

The Last Minute Open Jazz Festival has a rich history. Can you tell us some untold stories of its beginnings?

About 1,100 musicians from all over the world came to the Kamene Priče tavern. The whole planet was represented. There are definitely stories, but I prefer not to share them with anyone. They are unique and personal treasures that I don't give away.

Bale has become synonymous with jazz

Bale, a picturesque Istrian town, has become the host of this recognizable jazz festival. How did this small town become an integral part of the festival?

The question is a very complex one. I am sure that in part the type of music and our large and good audience determined the direction of our small place. It is fragile, small, simple. People are slowly adapting to the new standards of living, including jazz, which has been around for years, like a bird's song. Or so it seems to me...

Behind the scenes: Artist selection

How does the process of selecting artists for the festival take place? What unique qualities does each of this year's artists bring to the stage?

Artists are chosen and selected throughout the year. Based on our and their possibilities, before the summer itself, we put them together in a meaningful sequence. The message of that sequence is always hidden and those who make an effort can easily understand what we are saying. Music is communication. I have never announced and identified names, because it denies the beauty of the possible affirmation of new people. Big names overshadow smaller ones, and that is not right.

The future of the festival

When you look to the horizon, what future do you see for the Last Minute Open Jazz Festival? Are there any goals or visions that are more difficult to achieve?

My and our Festival is like when you adopt a frightened dog. It needs time to bark, but it rejoices with you. The goals are to fit into the evolution or to degrade. Which path jazz will take in Bale is a question for the Millionaire. Only a quiz can figure it out. You know, again, that festivals like jazz are expensive educational loopholes in a modern and, I would say, completely absurd world. Music restores dignity and explains the secret rules. It is unfathomable without an initiation, like secret societies, only the initiated understand where jazz is going and why it is where it is.

Support for the festival

Besides you, there are definitely other co-organizers, volunteers, assistants and media who shape this festival...

I always have the same people helping me: Melita Lovrićević, Nino Rajčević, Zvonimir Kuhtić, and my friends' children who are well educated and understand the craft and get into the swing of things. Without the young people who arm us, and whom we often neglect, there is no progress, dear people. Without meaningful education and without good schools, we go nowhere. Our Festival is a school of enormous strength. You know, Georgiev used classical dance and mathematics to solve important tasks concerning the evolution of man and woman. The people of Bale are the ones who help me the most with their money and patience.

Last-minute message for jazz lovers

As a final thought, is there anything you would like to share with our readers, whether longtime festival goers or new jazz fans who have just discovered the event?

Let us preserve our dignity despite the paradoxical point to which we have all fallen. A person can separate the lie from the truth only with the heart and a completely free intuition. Jazz is an intuitive game that predicts and at the same time entertains emotions and arranges them like a small wooden computerized machine. 

Tags: Jazz, Concerts, Music, Bale, Istria, Festival

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