Two generations, two luthier-built archtop guitars, and a shared love of the art of jazz.
Sharing the stage for the first time, Shibil Benev and Vilizar Gichev present their new acoustic guitar duo at In The Mood Jazz Club. One of Bulgaria’s established jazz guitar masters meets a remarkable talent from the younger generation in a musical dialogue shaped by shared musical tastes and a love of intimate ensemble playing. With two luthier-built archtop guitars — instruments with curved soundboards whose warm, full-bodied tone is closely intertwined with the history of jazz — they offer personal interpretations of jazz standards, bebop and hard bop tunes, ballads, and Latin American pieces.
From swing and blues to bossa nova and Brazilian choro, the programme reflects the two guitarists’ shared musical preferences and individual influences. Shibil brings his deep understanding of bebop, hard bop, and swing, while Vilizar builds on this common foundation with creative boldness and a contemporary approach, drawing inspiration from guitarists such as Peter Bernstein and Jesse van Ruller. Within this intimate format, the two continually exchange roles — carrying the melody, shaping the harmony, and providing the bass line. Familiar tunes become starting points for improvisation, spontaneous responses, and unexpected turns in the musical conversation.
Vilizar Gichev is a jazz guitarist and composer with an active performing and recording career. He graduated in Pop and Jazz Guitar from the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music, where he studied with Prof. Tsvetan Nedyalkov, and pursued further studies at the Giuseppe Tartini Conservatory in Trieste and the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, studying with Riccardo Chiarion, Klaus Gesing, and Fabio Zeppetella. As the guitarist of Postcard, he has performed at A to JazZ, Nišville, and Plovdiv Jazz Fest and recorded on the band’s album Stories (2024). That same year, he released the collaborative album ВИЖ with Petar Terziev. With his own Hammond organ trio, he develops original music that brings together the jazz organ trio tradition and a contemporary guitar vocabulary, while preparing his debut solo album.
Shibil Benev is a jazz guitarist, composer, and pianist whose extensive performing career connects him with leading figures and ensembles in Bulgarian jazz. A graduate of the National Academy of Music, he has played with the Bulgarian National Radio Big Band and Zhivko Petrov’s Jazz Breakers, contributed to the debut album of Angel Zaberski’s octet, and performed with Milcho Leviev’s sextet. In 2009, he shared the stage with world-renowned trumpeter Randy Brecker at Plovdiv Jazz Nights as a member of the Ventsi Blagoev Band. His longstanding creative partnerships with Marina Gospodinova and Dimitar Karamfilov further reflect the breadth of a musician equally at home in large ensembles, intimate chamber settings, and original projects.
Join us on 3 November for a concert in which the warm acoustic sound of two guitars reveals the richness of the jazz tradition through the imagination and distinctive musical voices of two remarkable musicians.