Peter Lipa: The King of Slovak Jazz at Pohoda 2025
Jazz, blues, a distinctive vocal style, beautiful Slovak lyrics penned by Milan Lasica, Daniel Hevier, and Ján Štrasser, and top-tier jazz musicians. The most prominent figure on the Slovak jazz scene, Peter Lipa, will take to the stage with his band once again at Trenčín Airport after six years.
21. March 2025
Throughout his singing career, Peter Lipa has always surrounded himself with outstanding musicians who helped him achieve a European reputation as a jazz vocalist. In the 1980s, he was regularly ranked among the top five European jazz singers by Jazz Forum magazine. His first recordings were made in the 1980s with the Blues Band, and in 1983, he released his debut solo album, Neúprosné ráno. Today, he has over 20 albums to his name.
Peter Lipa makes the most of a singer’s unique advantage—the ability to connect with the audience not just through melody, harmony, and rhythm, but also through lyrics. He was the first Slovak singer to bring Slovak lyrics into jazz, incorporating the rhythmic possibilities of language into his musical expression. He is well known for his close collaboration with actor and lyricist Milan Lasica, which resulted in two albums: Lipa spieva Lasicu (2006) and Návšteva po rokoch (2013)
His discography also includes the cover album Beatles in Blues and live recordings from concerts in Budapest, Bad Ischl, and Prague. His most memorable musical experience was a duet with Bobby McFerrin at the end of McFerrin’s 1986 concert in Bratislava. Lipa enjoys working with younger musicians and is open to unconventional collaborations—including a track titled Maňana, recorded with Slovak rapper Vec.
To mark his 80th birthday in 2023, Lipa released his eleventh studio album, NOLA, named after the acronym for New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz. He recorded the album in the cradle of jazz alongside local musicians, and it includes five new songs in both Slovak and English, as well as a New Orleans-style version of “Balada o štyroch koňoch”—a cult classic that reminds us every year to file our tax returns on time.
His latest album, Lipa Symphony 80, is a remastered recording of his 2023 concert at the Viva Musica festival, held in the Slovak Radio Concert Studio. At Pohoda, Peter Lipa will perform alongside his band: Richard Csino (bass), Michal Fedor (drums), Peter Lipa Jr. (piano), and Radovan Tariška (saxophone).
“There are certainly plenty of reasons to come to Pohoda this year, but I’ll give you one more—I’ll be singing there! So, I will see you there,” says Peter Lipa, inviting fans to his performance.