Zdenka Kovačićek & band

• Events

31st Jazz in the Lapidarium, 1 July 2026, 21.00, Zdenka Kovačiček & Band

Zdenka Kovačiček (voice)

Martin Šac (guitar)

Danko Krznarić (keyboards, voice)

Matko Benčić (bass guitar)

Kristian Orešić (drums)

Zvonimir Bajević, Antonio Geček (truba)

Marin Ferketin (trumpet)

Arsen Ereš (tenor saxophone)

Anamarija Ocvirk, Jelena Balent (backing vocal)

Zdenka Kovačiček is one of the most respected jazz, rock and blues singers in the region, with a rich, remarkable and exciting musical career that has also included acting. Many describe her as “a woman for all time,” and as early as 1978, with the song Elektra, she demonstrated that she was well ahead of her time.

That very song gained renewed international attention when Karl Lagerfeld selected it for a Chanel fashion show at the Grand Palais in Paris. The album was later reissued by the Austrian record label PMG and distributed worldwide.

As Zdenka herself says: “I live rock and blues, while jazz is the highest musical category and not something everyone can sing. I carry blues, rock and jazz within me. It is simply felt instinctively.”

Many listeners know Frka, which was revived by Nipplepeople and today has accumulated more than 23 million views on YouTube. Guided by intuition, curiosity, a desire to explore and discover herself, and a deep passion for music, Zdenka Kovačiček has spent more than six decades building a unique career and securing her place in the spotlight, refusing to become merely a shadow of past musical eras.

In early 2016, she began collaborating with the Greenhouse Blues Band, and together they have performed extensively at festivals, cultural events and independent concerts. One of the highlights of their collaboration came on 29 November 2017, when Zdenka celebrated the 60th anniversary of her artistic career with a concert at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb, accompanied by the Greenhouse Blues Band.

In 2018, she received the prestigious Večernjakova ruža award. Her successful studio and concert revival continued with her appearance at Dora 2020, where she performed the song Love, Love, Love and achieved an excellent result. In early 2021, she released her studio album Konstatacija jedne mačke (A Cat’s Observation), recorded with the Greenhouse Blues Band for the Dancing Bear label. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album of the Year. A crowning achievement of her career came later that year when she received the Porin Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2024, Zdenka celebrated her 80th birthday with the project 40+40, a programme combining a vibrant mix of musical genres that have shaped her long and distinguished career. In October 2025, Dancing Bear released her new single Ružin cvijet (Rose Blossom), the first announcement of a new album expected in 2026. On 15 November 2025, during the Interliber Book Fair, her autobiography was published.

The repertoire of Zdenka Kovačiček & Band includes timeless jazz standards such as Is You Is, Georgia On My Mind, Let The Good Times Roll, Allright OK and Route 66, alongside Zdenka’s best-known songs including Žena za sva vremena, Vrati se u moje dane, Mali crni brat, Frka, Mi volimo soul, Volim te kao konja, Elektra and Hello Mr. Elton John. The programme also features songs from her acclaimed album Konstatacija jedne mačke as well as some of the most famous songs by the legendary Janis Joplin, including Try, Mercedes Benz, Me and Bobby McGee, Piece of My Heart, Get It While You Can, Summertime, Half Moon and To Love Somebody.

Special thanks go to the City of Poreč-Parenzo, the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, the Poreč Tourist Board, Valamar, Damjanić Wines and Lapidarivm.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased through the online reservation system www.rezervacije-poup.hr or at the Institution’s box office during opening hours:

Monday – Wednesday: 8:00 –11:00 (with a prior call to the number +385 52 887 218)

on the day of a performance/screening: one hour before the start of the programme