Winzer Krems | Concert Evening 2

Darkly colored yet clear, endowed with the expressive depth and simultaneously feather-light elegance of a jazz singer: This is the sound of the voice of Júlia Kozáková, born in Slovakia. At the age of 13, she sang in the children's choir of the renowned Czech Roma diva Ida Kelarová – a key encounter. Music enriches us, this is Kozáková's simple credo, and with this attitude, she interprets the rich heritage of Roma music.

"Manuša" means "human" or "humane." The eponymous project featuring Roma music from Eastern Europe to Belgium began in 2020. A first CD was awarded funding and newcomer prizes. In 2025, the possibly even more brilliant album "Manuša II" was released, which promptly received a Radio_Head Award.

Already equipped with diplomas in ethnomusicology from SOAS University London (where she studied among others with flamenco singer Silvia Reina) and jazz singing from the Janáček Academy in Brno, Kozáková is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Contemporary Performance at Berklee College in Valencia.

Her band seems to have everything at their fingertips, from fast-paced pieces with virtuosic improvisations to swinging Sinti jazz in the style of Django Reinhardt, to free, raw ballads with heart-wrenching lyrics.

What an adventure: In 2019, the Omniversal Earkestra from Berlin traveled to Mali to revive the incomparable West African sound of the 1970s, influenced by jazz and Cuban elements. However, this was not a nostalgia project, but a contemporary, excitingly fresh homage. New arrangements were developed on-site. Soon, an album and a documentary film were completed.