Gani Jakupi

About Gani Jakupi

The writer, journalist, translator, speaker, comic book author, and jazz composer. Born in Kosovo, he has successively lived in France and Spain. “The Last Image” (Noctambule, 2012) is an analysis of news media in post-war situations, understood through a graphic novel, a brief history of the use of photography in conflicts, and interviews with Santiago Lyon, Deputy Director of Associated Press, Ron Haviv, named one of the top ten war photographers by National Geographic, Javier Baulíz, the first Spaniard to receive the Pulitzer Prize for photography, etc. The graphic novel “Return to Kosovo” (illustrated by Argentine Jorge González) recounts the post-war period in Kosovo, from the entry of NATO troops to the dissolution of the UÇK (Kosovo Liberation Army). Since 2006, he has been conducting research on the Cuban revolution. The release of “El Comandante Yankee”, a graphic novel, and “The Cuban Investigation”, a collection of testimonies and interviews with the last survivors of the revolution, in Havana and Miami, accompanied by unpublished documents and images, is scheduled for early 2017, in the Aire Libre collection, published by Dupuis. These works reveal unknown aspects of the Cuban revolution and the existence of a second rebel army, under the command of a Spanish Republican refugee, its contribution to the foundation and restructuring of the Cuban armed forces in 1959, before fleeing the communist takeover. Jakupi has conducted interviews with Cuban personalities (published in “Koha Ditore”, and in preparation for Le Point), a drawn report on the community of Cuban exiles in Miami (The magazine XXI), and he is preparing a graphic novel on the transition years in Cuba, “Waiting for the Future” (Futuropolis). He has established a network of relationships with intellectuals, journalists, musicians, and Cuban artists. Composer and leader of the Gani Jakupi Connections ensemble, he has released two jazz albums: “Aldea” (2012) and “Kismet” (2014). His current quintet consists of: jazz guitar (Gani Jakupi), bandoneon (Marcelo Mercadante), cello (Manuel Martínez del Fresno or Cèlia Torres), double bass (Jordi Gaspar), and drums (Nesim Maxhuni). For the recordings of the albums, he invited musicians from various countries: Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Spain, France, Kosovo, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Moldova, India, etc. His music is a blend of jazz with world music, incorporating influences from contemporary music.