The international jazz festival in Bitola, "Jazz Factory Festival", held its fifth, jubilee edition last month, where Aleksandar Boshkov was awarded the "Goce Dimitrovski" award for the best young jazz musician for 2021.

The festival had a rich program filled with music, workshops, presentations and debates. The main program took place in the National Theater in Bitola, and part of the off-programme took place in the "Porta Jazz" coffee bar, as well as the "Kamarite" and "Bourbon Street" clubs, which, according to the organizers, is in order to bring the festival closer to the wider audience. By the way, the performance at the festival was also the first performance of Boshkov's quartet, which, in fact, is a continuation of his acoustic trio.

"Kulturen pečat" congratulated Boshkov on the award, and considering that the best jazz musician at a young age is not a small recognition at all, we asked him what "the best" means in jazz, considering that this type of music gives a wide space of expression.

- In my opinion, the best in jazz does not exist, here all people with a creative spirit are welcome to express themselves with sound - says Boskov.

To get to jazz, he draws inspiration from everywhere, but the blues is immediately "to blame": "The blues was my bridge to the music I want to play now, which also plays a very big role in terms of expression in jazz." , he adds.

Aleksandar Boshkov was born in 1997 in Shtip. He graduated from the jazz department at Gotse Delchev University in Shtip. He regularly performs in various settings in the country and abroad. What stands out about this extremely talented musician is his open mind to different musical directions, so his name can be found in many projects, including collaborations with artists in the field of electronic music.

– I love experimenting with other musicians who come from any field in music, especially from the electronic world. That's how my project with Ognen Zafirovski, known under the name "Yudhisthira", came about. Thanks to the successes of Ogi all over the world, the ambient project called "Starchild" manages to be placed at festivals outside our country - explains Boshkov.

"Jazz Factors Festival" in Bitola is dedicated to promoting Macedonian jazz music. In that context, Boshkov considers himself lucky to have excellent colleagues.

- For my music, I am very lucky to have the opportunity to work and develop it with people who are my friends, above all, and very inspiring musicians. We started as a trio, but we played for the first time as a quartet at the Jazz Factors Festival. In reality, this music is a reflection of my idea with the sound and expression of the other musicians in the band - concludes Boshkov.

The "Goce Dimitrovski" award is given in cooperation with the Municipality of Bitola, while the "Jazz Factors Festival" was held with the support of the Municipality of Bitola, the National Theater in Bitola and the association "Most" from Budapest.

(The text was published in "Kulturen Pechat" number 140, in the print edition of the newspaper "Sloboden Pechat" on August 6-7, 2022)