Fans of jazz and blues are enjoying the Gjon Mili Festival held in Tirana in honor of the great artist.

Located near the Reja installation in the Albanian capital city, the festival is an open invitation for citizens who want to spend an evening immersed in the sounds of music.

The festival brings together 25 well-known Albanian and international artists, as well as 5 young Albanian artists.

Among others, the surprise of this edition was the performance of a jazz composition by an artist of Arbëresh origin, Antonio Maggio.

“This year, we have a kind of novelty that we are promoting talented young [artists] in instruments and vocals, to get closer to jazz music. In addition to this, we have another element in this edition: for the first time, the first blues written in New Orleans will be performed, and it was not written by an African American but by an Italian Arbëresh artist,” organizer and pianist Andi Kongo told Euronews Albania.

The first night of the festival opened with the piano performance of compositions by Austrian artist Martin Listabarth, who told Euronews Albania that Tirana will be an inspiration for the creation of his next works.

“I am playing some compositions of mine from my latest album, one is called ‘Postcards’ where I wrote compositions about different places which inspired me. [Is Tirana going to inspire you?] I think so. I think this city has a special sound, and maybe a piece can come out of it.”

The purpose of the festival is also to promote young talents in jazz and blues music, as well as to pay homage to the figure of Gjon Mili.

His works published in the famous American magazine LIFE have portrayed renowned artists such as Billy Holliday and the great Picasso.

But Mili’s greatest legacy was the documentation he achieved through iconic photographs, capturing an important transitional era between two significant periods of jazz: from swing to modern.

The festival will conclude with a jam session, where participating artists will perform in a jazz improvisation.

Afterwards, the festival will move to Korça on July 15, where organizers have envisioned the city as another station of homage in honor of Gjon Mili.

The contribution of Gjon Mili remains significant as an innovator of the 1940s and served as Albania’s only bridge to the world of jazz music.