On 29 October, In The Mood Jazz Club presents the premiere of Dat Beat Project feat. VLADKO – the new project led by drummer and composer Aleksandar Ivanov, combining hip-hop beats, the energy of EDM and jazz improvisation. For the ensemble’s debut concert, he brings together Vladislav Michev – VLADKO on trombone and bass trumpet, Stavros Spyrou on tenor saxophone, Krasimir Zafirov on guitar and Boyan Manolov on bass guitar. The five musicians take the stage with original music and a deep groove, translating the logic of the beat into live interplay between drums, bass, guitar and horns.
Inspired by artists such as Robert Glasper, Yussef Dayes, Butcher Brown and Alfa Mist, Dat Beat Project blends hip-hop beats and electronic influences with jazz harmony and improvisation. Bass and drums set the pulse, while guitar and horns add harmonic colour, expressive melodies and dynamic instrumental twists. The programme features original compositions by all the musicians, with a special focus on VLADKO’s music, interpreted through the ensemble’s shared aesthetic.
Jazz and hip-hop are connected through a longstanding exchange of musical ideas. Producers sample melodies, harmonies and rhythmic fragments from jazz recordings, while instrumentalists, in turn, incorporate beats and techniques from hip-hop production into their playing. In the work of Robert Glasper and Terrace Martin, this interaction also reveals a deeper connection: roots in African American communities, the need for an individual voice and the freedom to express personal experience through music.
This exchange of musical ideas is also central to the concept of Dat Beat Project. The ensemble plans to collaborate with a variety of guest artists, each contributing their own compositions, ideas and musical inspirations. Each collaboration shapes a new programme and gives the project a different character. The first guest is VLADKO.
Vladislav Michev – VLADKO is a Bulgarian multi-instrumentalist, composer and performer whose creative range spans jazz, funk and fusion. Since 2013, he has been a member of the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band and Brass Association Big Band. He also performs with Funky Miracle, and in 2025 founded his own big band, Sofia Jazz Collective. He has written more than 50 compositions for various ensembles and released two EPs, and has shared the stage with artists such as Joe Lovano, Kurt Elling and Alex Sipiagin.
Aleksandar Ivanov is a jazz drummer, composer and arranger, and the founder of Dat Beat Project. He graduated in jazz drums from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in 2026. With the international quartet SAGE, he has performed in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Romania, while his stage experience includes appearances at Bimhuis and leading Bulgarian jazz festivals. Compositions from the debut album of his project KVINTAKORD have been recorded with the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band in his own arrangements.
Join us on 29 October at In The Mood for the premiere of Dat Beat Project feat. VLADKO, where hip-hop, jazz and EDM intertwine through original compositions and live instrumental dialogue.