The Band
“In an inflationary number of groups worldwide that are copying, replicating or using the repertoire of The Quintet of the Hot Club of France Teo Collori presents his own music just reminding us of that sound.
The presence of clarinet associates with the Django’s (Reinhardt) quartet without Grappelli, and in his case, I find a successful contribution to the sound of an ensemble with strings. The partner collaboration of Collori and violinist Krečič is original and enviable in both performance and arrangement.
Collori creates music that invites audience to feel and experience, not just listen. His approach to his guitar gives me pleasure and inspires respect.”
By: Svetolik Jakovljević, Jazz publicist, author of the book “Djangology”
The Players
Teo Collori
Teo Collori has recorded 6 original albums in his twenty-year career. He is currently the most active author in the Slovenian jazz scene. His guitar can be heard on over 100 albums. He started playing rock, then moved on to metal, funk, jazz, and finally gypsy jazz. Due to this breadth, his music incorporates various styles. Momento Cigano was founded in 2015 and their debut album won the “Album of the Year 2015” award on the MuzikObala portal. Teo Collori also performed a solo on the song “Just Jammin” by Gramatik, which has over 30,000,000 views on YouTube. He played with Magnifico for 3 years and during that time also performed with the Stanislav Binički Serbian Army Orchestra. Currently, he is the main soloist with the Big Band of RTV Slovenia, with whom he recently recorded an album.
Matej Kužel
Matej Kužel is an accomplished clarinetist, active since 1990. He honed his skills under the tutelage of Robert Stanič and completed his education in 2012 under Professor Michael Erian at the Landes Konservatorium in Celovec. Kužel is a fixture in various music groups including Matej Kužel Trio, Teo Collori and Momento Cigano, Magnifico, and occasionally collaborates with MGL and the Big Band of RTV Slovenija. He’s a familiar presence on stages across Europe, performing at prestigious festivals like Sziget, Špancirfest, and more. Kužel has recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London, and released the album “Ergo Sum” with Mike Sponza in 2016. He’s a sought-after clarinetist and saxophonist, having collaborated with acclaimed musicians domestically and internationally. Kužel’s versatility shines, showcased in his performances with the Big Band of RTV Slovenija, notably in the Swing Revival project in 2018 and a concert dedicated to Ati Soss in 2020.
Metod Banko
He started singing in a children’s choir and later sang in choirs for twelve years, including Ljubljanski Madrigalisti, APZ Tone Tomšič, and RTV Chamber Choir. He performed in musicals at the Ljubljana City Theatre for ten years and has contributed as a singer on over twenty-five albums. After studying singing in Celovec with a focus on jazz and pop, he learned to play the guitar under the mentorship of Tea Collori and now combines both in the ensemble Teo Collori and Momento Cigano. He is also a member of the ensemble Uršula Ramoveč and Fantje iz Jazbecove Grape, which performs rustic chansons, as well as Mala mestna muzika, which also performs musical poetry.
Jošt Lampret
Jošt Lampret is one of the most versatile and sought-after double bassists in Slovenia. After completing his studies at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet, he continued his education at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana in the class of Prof. Zoran Marković. He has received numerous first prizes at domestic and international competitions in the classical double bass category. Jošt Lampret has collaborated with orchestras such as the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, Mediterranean Youth Orchestra, and has performed as a soloist with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, KGO Academy of Music Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana. He has also collaborated with internationally renowned musicians in classical, jazz, and other genres, including Irena Grafenauer, Mate Bekavac, Daniel Rowland, Vlatko Stefanovski, Jean-Christophe Gairard, and others. Jošt Lampret is involved in various projects and serves as the leader of the Slovenian fusion band P’Jays, where he acts as the main composer and bass guitarist.
Matija Krečič
The violinist and composer Matija Krečič completed his studies in violin and composition at the State Conservatory in Klagenfurt in 2015. He actively collaborates with Magnifico, Tomaž Hostnik, and plays in the band Momento Cigano. He has composed music for several short films and theater performances. He is the author of orchestral arrangements of Magnifico’s music for the film “Montevideo, vidimo se!” directed by Dragan Bjelogrlić. He created two musical identities for the first program of TV Slovenia (2016, 2017-). At the Slovenian Pop Music Festival 2018, he received an award from the professional jury for the best arrangement. His music in the feature film “Inventura” directed by Darko Sinko was awarded the Vesna for the best original music at the Festival of Slovenian Film in 2021. He is an exceptionally active arranger and collaborates as a composer with various Slovenian soloists and ensembles, including Mate Bekavac, Bernarda Fink, Tanja Sonc, Jan Gričar, Ensemble Janus Atelier, MD7, APZ Tone Tomšič, among others. Two albums of his original music have been released so far: “Architexture” (Janus Atelier, 2014) and “Cut / Rez” (ZKP RTV Slovenija, 2020). Matija Krečič is a member of the Society of Slovene Composers and a co-founder of the music association Janus Atelier.