The final evening of the 23rd Jazztopad Festival will feature a concert that promises to be a memorable event, not only for the audience but also for the performers, as William Parker, Hamid Drake, and Shabaka appear on one stage together for the very first time. 

The artists come together at the NFM for a project by William Parker, who is not only one of contemporary jazz’s most outstanding double bassists but also a pivotal figure on New York’s improvised music scene, having helped shape its key movements since the 1970s. His work on behalf of the music community has become just as significant as his creative work. Hamid Drake, who made his debut in the late 1970s, is a versatile drummer who blends jazz improvisation with rhythms from Africa and the Middle East, as well as Indian and Caribbean music, reggae, and American traditions. For decades, he has demonstrated that openness to other cultures need not be a mere addition to jazz but can serve as one of its most creative foundations. This festival finale trio is completed by saxophonist and flautist Shabaka, a key figure on the British scene over the past two decades and a musician who has helped infuse it with new energy, a fresh musical language, and given it an international status. His work draws on jazz, Caribbean traditions, Afrobeat, grime, hip-hop, dub, and electronica, creating a space where improvisation meets the rhythm of the modern city. In discussing his work, Shabaka emphasises the communicative and social value of music, aiming to express through sound those aspects of the human experience that defy verbal description. In recent years, she has increasingly turned towards traditional sounds and spirituality in music, frequently incorporating the clarinet and flutes. With this line-up, their interests and virtuosity, we can look forward to a truly powerful festival finale!