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By:
Besarte Elshani
- June 7, 2026 14:00
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The concert that brought “Classic Jazz Trio+” was like a journey through the sounds that had accompanied the end of the 80s and the entire following decade as well as the beginning of this millennium. For the musicians themselves – Luan Osmani on bass guitar, Ilir Bajri on keyboards, Besim Gashi – Babuka on drums and Arian Randobrava on saxophone – it was a reunion that represents an important part of their artistic history. At that time when the freedom of jazz, even challenged reality
A couple of decades after they last shared the stage in this formation, the musicians who stand out as representatives of the first generation of modern jazz in Kosovo have reunited in Pristina. At the “Defy Them” alternative culture center, the “Classic Jazz Trio+” concert was not only a musical evening, but also a return to the time when jazz and fusion music were cultivated even in difficult periods for the country's cultural life.
For the audience, the evening was like a journey through the sounds that accompanied the end of the '80s and the entire following decade, as well as the beginning of this millennium. For the musicians themselves – Luan Osmani on bass guitar, Ilir Bajri on keyboards, Besim Gashi – Babuka on drums and Arian Randobrava on saxophone – it was a meeting that represents an important part of their artistic history.
The program itself was built on names that have left their mark on the history of jazz and fusion. From Michel Petrucciani with “Miles”, to the rhythmic energy of Miles Davis’ “Jean Pierre” and Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon”, the concert took off with different musical colors. The melodic delicacy of Freddie Hubbard’s “Little Sunflower” was followed by the dynamics of Chick Corea’s “Spain”. And, Billy Cobham’s “Red Baron” and Wayne Shorter’s “Footprints” brought the improvisational spirit that remains a hallmark of jazz.
On stage were musicians who, even today, are among the most dedicated names in keeping this music alive in Kosovo. Drummer Besim Gashi recalled the period when jazz was developing far from ideal conditions – which are still lacking today – but not far from passion.
"We are a society, a group, a team of, not to say pioneers of jazz in Kosovo, especially Luan Osmani who is the youngest among us. He has done modern jazz-fusion while Iliri and I later participated in a festival in Mitrovica when we first started in 1987. We are a generation that has kept jazz alive mainly in the late '80s and throughout the '90s. Even though we were under occupation, without adequate halls for concerts, we have held them in bars, but we have kept jazz as a culture that we have known and dealt with. Now, since the post-war period, we have been very active in the first three years with this repertoire of modern jazz or combined fusion", he said.
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This very repertoire, once heard in clubs and alternative spaces, has returned after 22 years to a shared stage.
"Now, after 22 years, we have come together again, even though we don't play the jazz music of the '80s and '90s, but we are a generation of the music of this time," said Babuka.
For him, the essence of jazz remains freedom. Not only as an artistic concept, but also as a way of communication between musicians.
"A jazz musician needs to know harmony or music a little more deeply so that he can be a little freer. The characteristic of jazz is freedom. This means that you can improvise, but to be in shape, to have the listening culture to communicate with the group. Jazz is music that if done in a group is like a football team where everyone plays together, not where one person plays and the energy of each person is heard in the sense of freedom of how he expresses himself. So, the characteristic of jazz is the freedom of expression in music. It depends on how much vocabulary he has on his instrument so that he can say what he feels and thinks," the prominent drummer considered.
Pianist Ilir Bajri considered the concert a return to the music that had once shaped them artistically.
"It's music that we played in the '90s. A little out of ignorance, a little out of necessity, a little out of youth. We played a lot, like tonight, the music that at that time inspired us to maintain a kind of artistic integrity. As a reminder for the younger generations to show them what we have done because we are only showing with words and not with deeds," said Bajri while expressing enthusiasm for the reunion on stage of the musicians whose friendship was brought to them by music.
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As he used to do from time to time, the trio was joined by saxophonist Arian Randobrava. Not infrequently, he would even physically separate, as his music still resonated, as an image of a kind of hybrid member, as Randobrava describes his activity at the time.
"For me it is, not only now, but also earlier since I am younger than them and they functioned as a classic jazz trio. I was a boy who had just started playing the saxophone and I was a listener. There was no where and from whom else to learn by listening except Luan Osmani, Ilir Bajri and Besim Gashi. It has been more than 20 years since we had the opportunity to play together, but I am simply surprised too," said saxophonist Randobrava.
When he started playing the saxophone, the members of the band were among his main references for learning and understanding jazz. And, regarding the chosen repertoire, he said that it brings a dimension that is rarely heard on the local scene.
"It's a program that's not usually played here. There are some jazz standards that we've selected to accommodate people's ears and that seem familiar, but there's also fusion," said Randobrava.
He considered the concert a long-awaited moment. "I've been waiting for this moment to come sooner," he said.
Gent Behramaj, manager of "Defy Them", said that with such concerts they aim to make jazz music as present as possible on the stage of the center for alternative culture.
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"It's the jazz series that we want to make more frequent, in addition to 'Jazz Catz' that we have and 'Fuzz Improv Collective' that we started as monthly events. We want to have them more frequent, to create space for older and younger generations, to make a combination to try to create as much music and space as possible for artists to exchange experiences, but also for the public to listen to quality music," he said.
The “Classic Jazz Trio+” concert was a nostalgic throwback and reminder of the time when jazz in Kosovo was kept alive by a handful of dedicated musicians. And, the performance proved to be an energy of that time that continues today.
