The Jean John Quartet ft. Kelly Green

It was a pleasure to see Hotel Kras – Jazz Hram packed for a jazz concert on Friday, March 20, 2026, as the audience in Postojna gathered for the Jean John Quartet featuring Kelly Green. The show took place in the hotel’s bar as part of the ongoing Jazz Hram – Jazz v Postojni concert cycle, organized by longtime local jazz supporter Bojan Volk. The atmosphere before the first note already suggested that this was not going to be a routine club night, but a special stop on a short regional tour led by acclaimed Slovenian drummer Žan Tetičkovič, who lives and works in New York under his nickname Jean John.

For this project, John assembled a quartet of musicians deeply connected to the New York scene. Alongside him was bassist Luca Soul Rosenfeld, his longtime friend and collaborator, tenor saxophonist Lenart Krečič, and pianist and vocalist Kelly Green, a rising artist whose recent recordings have been gaining international attention. The setlist leaned strongly into original material by John and Green, with just enough carefully chosen standards to highlight their shared language and musical flexibility.

Swinging hard from the first chorus

They opened with a statement: a fast swinging tune that set the tone immediately—bright, energetic, and rhythmically demanding. Green’s vocals were crisp and confident, her phrasing precise without sounding calculated. Krečič entered with a full-bodied tenor sound and projected effortlessly into the room. It quickly became clear the quartet would not be held back by the hotel bar acoustics. John and Rosenfeld locked into a tight groove, swinging hard and clean, and the drummer’s presence was unmistakable from the first chorus—driving the band while shaping the form with subtle accents and momentum.

After briefly introducing the musicians and the program, the group moved into Green’s original instrumental composition When It Is Time to Go, taken from her 2025 Global Music Award-winning release Corner of My Dreams. Originally recorded as a trio piece, the addition of tenor saxophone gave the theme a wider palette, expanding the tune’s melodic contour and adding a new voice to the arrangement. The composition shifts between a fast waltz feel and a swinging bridge, and the band handled these transitions with complete ease. Green delivered a technically sharp piano solo, but Rosenfeld’s bass feature was the quiet surprise of the tune. Playing on a rented instrument—never a comfortable situation for any bassist—he still managed to craft deep, singing lines with a strong sense of direction.

Original Music Takes the Stage

The next section of the set leaned into Jean John’s writing. For What It’s Worth was a medium swing piece built around rhythmic motifs that demanded precision from the entire band. The intro, featuring saxophone and vocals, set a distinctive color, and the tune unfolded naturally, with its rhythmic motifs returning throughout the performance and giving the solos a clear sense of direction. Krečič’s solo once again filled the space with remarkable sound projection and clarity, his tenor sound full and focused throughout. The quartet followed with In More Ways Than One, a fast swinger from John’s 2019 release A Love Lane Nocturne. John’s strengths as a composer and arranger were particularly evident here—he writes with momentum in mind, creating material that naturally pushes the band forward while still leaving room for improvisational personality.With his upcoming album Port of Life Pt. 3 (the third part of his trilogy) expected in early autumn this year, the set felt like a glimpse into a musician who continues to develop his voice both as a drummer and as a composer.

A Moment of Intimacy

After the intensity of the faster numbers, the quartet shifted into a quieter, more spacious ballad, creating one of the most intimate moments of the night. Green began alone at the piano, singing with calm focus, and when the band entered, they did so with restraint and sensitivity. Nothing felt forced or overplayed—just a clear vocal line carried by subtle support. Green’s emotional depth came through naturally, her delivery direct enough to hold the room without needing dramatic gestures.

That same sense of control carried into the next vocal feature, where Green’s arranging instincts came into focus. Her phrasing was framed by rhythmic cues from the rhythm section, giving the tune shape and forward motion while still leaving space to breathe. John and Rosenfeld stayed locked in, swinging lightly without pushing, while Krečič added color around the edges. It was one of those moments where the quartet sounded fully unified, held together by shared timing and trust.

The highlight of the concert arrived with Green’s Corner of My Dreams, the title track from her latest album. The song’s lyrical quality stood out immediately—clear storytelling, emotionally grounded, and musically shaped to support the message rather than overpower it. In this stripped-down quartet format, Krečič’s saxophone took over a section that on the studio recording is carried by strings, turning it into an improvisational feature that fit naturally into the tune’s flow. It was fascinating to hear how the song evolved in a live setting while still retaining its core identity. The arrangement proved that strong songwriting can survive any instrumentation change, and perhaps even benefit from it.

A Powerful Closing Sequence

The closing sequence came as a segue between two Green originals. Peace One functioned almost like an introduction—a message piece built on strong lyrics and a steady pedal vamp. The lines, “All we ever want is peace… no sorrow, just love and faith… don’t go into the depths of hate,” felt direct and timely without becoming forced. From there, Rosenfeld launched into the bass riff of Rich’s Stitches, written for saxophonist Rich Perry, a collaborator of Green on her 2024 album Seems. It was the perfect closer: high energy, open improvisation, and the band finally loosening into extended exchanges. Trading eights brought a burst of playful competition, and Green’s solo piano cadenza near the end was a striking moment of control and drama before the band returned to the riff and drove it home.

Encore and Final Reflections

The audience, unsurprisingly, demanded more. John joked with the crowd, asking whether they wanted something fast or slow, before closing the night with the encore Love Lane Nocturne, a ballad and the title track from his 2019 album. It was a smart choice to end on something lyrical and spacious, lowering the temperature after the fireworks and leaving the room in a reflective mood.

The Jean John Quartet featuring Kelly Green turned the bar at Hotel Kras into a real jazz club for the night, driven by strong original compositions, thoughtful arrangements, and musicianship rooted in deep listening. More than anything, the concert proved once again that jazz doesn’t need a big city to feel alive. When the connection is real and the playing is honest, the music reaches people anywhere—and this audience clearly felt it.