Perpetuum Jazzile

Perpetuum Jazzile
Background information
Origin Slovenia
Genres A cappella, Pop, Jazz, Bossa Nova, Funk, Soul
Instruments singing, beatboxing, scat singing
Years active 30
Website perpetuumjazzile.si
Members
Past members

Perpetuum Jazzile is a Slovenian musical group, best known for a 2009 a cappella cover of Toto's "Africa" performance video that has received more than 19 million YouTube views as of June 2016.[1]

Founded in 1983, under its former name Gaudeamus Chamber Choir, it consists of both female and male singers.[2] They are occasionally joined by the Slovenian Radio and Television Big Band instrumentalists. The choir mainly performs a cappella with one of its members, Sašo Vrabič, as vocal percussionist.

Music

Initially inspired by Gene Puerling, The Singers Unlimited, and The Swingle Singers, the choir performs bossa nova, swing music, funk, gospel, and pop, using harmonies characteristic of close harmony music.[3]

Leadership

Founded by Marko Tiran in 1983, the choir's art leadership was in 2001 passed to Tomaž Kozlevčar,[4] and ten years later to Peder Karlsson.[5]

History

The sopranos' section during a concert of Vokal Xtravaganzza in 2015

In 2006, they recorded Čudna noč (Strange Night) album, released by Dallas Records,[6] and had a concert with Mansound (from Kiev, Ukraine).[7] A vocal jazz seminar in Ljubljana was organized by them with Ward Swingle, the Swingle Singers founder.

Their performance of "Africa" earned kudos from the song's co-writer, David Paich,[8] and Toto invited them on stage during a 2011 concert held near Udine, Italy.[9][10]

In 2011, the choir embarked on a "World Tour", which took them to sold out venues in Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Canada and the USA.

Every Fall, the group performs Vokal Xtravaganzza evening concerts in Cankar Hall in Ljubljana, with a number of guests from Slovenia and abroad, including local Alenka Godec, 6Pack Čukur, Alya, Oto Pestner, Jan Plestenjak, and Nuša Derenda, and Vocalica (Italy), The Real Group (Sweden), Mansound (Ukraine), BR6 (Brazil), The Real Six Pack (Germany) from abroad.[11]

In 2015 Maraaya, the Slovene duo that represented Slovenia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song Here for You, released a videoclip of the song featuring Perpetuum Jazzile.[12]

On June 19, 2015, the group performed during the Slovenian national day at Expo 2015 in Milan[13] In autumn of the same year Perpetuum Jazzile was on its first tour in China with a big concert in Guangzhou Opera House.[14]

Peder Karlsson, the famed Swedish a cappella specialist who was recruited in 2011 as the group’s musical mentor, recalls in a documentary video on the group:

The very first rehearsal I did with Perpetuum Jazzile, I practised a song I'd written called 'Anything can happen’… They were so fantastically good. For me, that's because they have spent so much time together, so the friendship they have, that comes out in the music.
Peder Karlsson[14]

Awards

Andraž Slakan conducting Perpetuum Jazzile in October 2015

In 2008, it was awarded the Vokal.Total Award at the International Choir Festival and International A Cappella Competition[15] and it won awards at international jazz vocal music competition in Tilburg, Netherlands.

They won awards at the Choir Olympics in Graz, Austria.[16]

In 2010, they were awarded the Slovenian "Viktor Award", a local equivalent of the Grammy Award.

Discography

Albums

Music videos

Title Year Director(s)
"ABBA Greatest Hits" 2013 Perica Rai & Vladan J.[17]
"Footloose" 2015 Perica Rai.[18]
"Don't Stop Me Now (Queen), Live in Concert" 2015 Bojana Bergant[19]

References

  1. Glasba za dobro jutro: Perpetuum Jazzile, Africa. Delo, 7 August 2013, Accessed on 17 September 2013.
  2. "Glee izvajajo svoje skladbe na plejbek, mi pa to počnemo s svojim glasom". Delo, 6 March 2013, Accessed on 17 September 2013.
  3. "Official Perpetuum Jazzile press kit" (PDF). June 15, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  4. Tomaž Kozlevčar zapušča Perpetuum Jazzile, Delo, 1 January 2011
  5. "Peter Karlsson, novi vodja zbora Perpetuum Jazzile". RTVSLO. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  6. "COBISS/OPAC". Co-operative Online Bibliographic System & Services. Virtual Library of Slovenia. June 25, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  7. "Cankarjev Dom concert archive". Cultural and Congress centre. Cankarjev dom. September 18, 2006. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  8. "Perpetuum Jazzile Official Web Site". July 7, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
  9. Perpetuum Jazzile razglasili za Hrvate, Zurnal, 1 August 2011
  10. Perpetuum Jazzile na odru s Toto!, photo of PJ with Toto members
  11. Perpetum Jazzile ali vokalna harmonija, Domžalske Novice, June 2010, Accessed on 2013-09-17.
  12. See http://esctoday.com/102886/slovenia-maraayas-last-days-vienna/
  13. See Expo-Slovenia official website..
  14. 1 2 Kester Eddy, Perpetuum Jazzile hits... 2015.
  15. "Participants of former years". International Choir Festival vokal.total and International A Cappella Competition. June 3, 2008. Retrieved June 24, 2009.
  16. "Qualifying Competition of the World Choir Games (Round 1)" (PDF). 5th World Choir Games. World Choir Games. July 19, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
  17. More informations on the video's page of the group's official YouTube channel
  18. More informations on the video's page of the group's official YouTube channel
  19. More informations on the video's page of the group's official YouTube channel

Bibliography

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