Bulgarian violinist, singer, and actress Emanuela Kalcheva-Djaima presented a rendition of the Bulgarian folk dance Gankino Horo at the International Jazz Day concert on April 30, organized by the Jazz Society of Egypt. Djaima described her approach to jazz, stating, “Jazz is an eclectic genre with many different currents. My jazz is a fusion with traditional music, whether Bulgarian or Romani.
I always like to do something different, to enrich or leave my own musical imprint on something that already exists.”
She shared that performing the rhythmically complex Gankino Horo was a long-held aspiration. Djaima recalled her father’s advice from her childhood regarding the importance of learning Bulgarian music for global recognition. Performing the piece years later led her to feel that her father had been correct, noting, “I just needed more maturity to understand it.”
For the performance, Djaima collaborated with Amro Salah, a pianist and composer with strong ties to Bulgaria, the founder of the Jazz Society of Egypt and the Cairo Jazz Festival, alongside Andre Segone on bass guitar and Fady Tawab Louis on drums.
The collaboration was described as inspiring for the Egyptian musicians. The audience at Arkan Teatre in Cairo responded to the Gankino Horo with significant applause. Djaima explained the nature of the performance, which she characterized as a blend of mathematical precision—due to the challenging 11/8 rhythm—and improvisation.
She emphasized focusing on openness during performance rather than audience reaction. After graduating from the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, Djaima lived in Paris for nearly three decades before moving to Cairo during the pandemic to teach music. Currently, she is involved in the trio Sacree Femmes, collaborating with American cellist Kira Weiss and Egyptian musician Safa El-Helaly, who plays the traditional rababa.
Topics: #jazz #bulgarian #djaima
That fusion of traditional Bulgarian folk music with jazz sounds really interesting.