Primož Vitez, vocals
Aljoša Kosor, classical guitar
Mitja Vrhovnik Smrekar, percussion
Sergej Randjelovič – Runjoe, percussion
Marko Gregorič, electric bass guitar

The project Bossa de Novo & César Camargo Mariano was born after a successful and critically acclaimed concert at the 71st Ljubljana Festival in 2023. The fresh artistic connection between Bossa de Novo and César was felt by some 1,500 people in a sold-out venue. As a result of this partnership, the group received an invitation from César Camargo Mariano to record a new bossa nova album, which is the fruit of his reflection on Brazilian music. Having played with Bossa de Novo, César sensed that the synergy between himself and the group was such that making a record could give an interesting artistic result. He provided the project with new, original arrangements of bossa nova classics, songs that represent the sources and history of this distinctive Brazilian genre. The recording sessions will take place in Ljubljana until the end of 2024, and the arrangements will be premiered on 26 August at Križanke, as part of the 72nd Ljubljana Festival. The first pressing of the album will be in tribute to the Ljubljana Festival for all its support, and the band is also preparing a brand new composition as a single which will be a gift to the audience at the premiere.

• bossa nova is a genre that developed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the late 1950s and early 1960s
• the two key figures in the development of the genre were Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto; the first bossa nova single to achieve international popularity was The Girl from Ipanema
• Bossa de Novo are a Slovene jazz group formed in 2003
• their better known arrangements and originals include Selma, Sestanek pod rjuho, Ne prižigaj luči, Majska, Jardin d’hiver  and Pesem XIV. divizije
• the compositions of César Camargo Mariano have been recorded by artists all over the world, including Yo Yo Ma, Paquito D’Rivera, Ettore Stratta and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Milton Nascimento and Herbie Hancock, and Clare Fisher