Class, Sass and all that Jazz in Split thanks to Paradox

On Saturday 18^th November 2017, Split proved it has culture and class in the off-season thanks to Artičok restaurant and Paradox Wine and Cheese Bar.

Every year I fall more and more in love with Croatia in the off-season. While Croatia is starting to make progress towards becoming a ‘365 destination’, part of me selfishly hopes no one else clues onto the beauty of Croatia in Autumn through to early Spring…

But what do the locals do, besides sipping coffee on the Riva? Everything shuts down right? It must be so boring…

Not. At. All.

You are forgiven for thinking there is nothing to do, I myself, foolishly thought that with the season coming to a close, I would have some overdue downtime, you know – wearing nothing but trackpants, locked inside with the fire going, a good book, a glass of red and dark chocolate by my side…

Ok, I have done this and it was bliss; but truth is, my social calendar has been busier than ever, Split is coming alive and I can’t keep up with all of the amazing gigs and events going on around town. I have forced a rule on myself – only to go out once or twice per week and this has been difficult to abide by; what with the SplEAT events happening every Wednesday night…

Official SplEAT page, photography Damira Kalajzic

Wine tastings at Paradox Wine Bar and Cheese every Wednesday…

Wine tasting at Paradox with Jo Ahearne, photo credit: Tash Pericic

And a plethora of live music every other night, my budget (and health) just won’t allow me to keep up! On Saturday night, I organised a dinner at Artičok restaurant with friends (which I will write about in full detail soon), followed by a night at Paradox to watch Black Coffee Jazz band.

Articok Official

It was the first time we got properly dressed up – a dress, red lippy, heels and all – and had a ‘night on the town’, I could almost have been in London… Dinner was amazing, I love the intimacy of Artičok, it is the perfect setting for a group of friends or date with someone special. Following this, we went to Paradox around 8.30 pm and I am glad I booked a table (which I wouldn’t normally think to do in off-season Split) because Paradox had a full house.

Oh, how I have missed live music! It goes without saying that in London there is always somewhere to go, if you want live music, you can find it somewhere any night of the week; from rock and acoustic to funky jazz bars… Same goes in Australia actually, a couple of years ago my husband (Croatian) and I spent 6 months living in Melbourne for a change of setting and he couldn’t believe the amazing music scene. We have missed this dearly. Summer is crazy and most of us work, but one thing Split is sorely lacking is music venues, bars don’t really exist here; you are either a café or a restaurant and during summer, everyone is after maximum income, so there is no need to have a band (which only takes up space) because the people will come anyway… *Dear Croatia, please change this mentality.

Thankfully, with the rebirth of Judino Drvo and Split venues which only wake back up after summer hibernation, the music scene seems alive and well. Bokamorra has introduced ‘Prohibition Thursdays’ with jazz and cocktails and Paradox has events most every other night. And, absolute props to Paradox who are really trying to bring some culture to the city, I will easily put my hand up and say that they have the best program in Split at the moment.

Black Coffee was the perfect example of this; Black Coffee is a famous jazz group who have been active since 1993, their first album release was in 1996, they have performed in many local and international jazz festivals and have collaborated with local and international jazz stars. The group’s backbone is built around their jazz player Renato Svorinic and drummer Jadran Ducic Cico; Renato has been nominated many times for the best bass player and many consider Jadran one of Croatia’s finest jazz drummers. (Taken from Official Black Coffee page).

I will not call myself an expert or jazz connoisseur but Black Coffee exceeded all of my expectations, they were phenomenal and with the setting in Paradox, I could have been in any Metropolis city in the world. The service of the team there was perfect, friendly and attentive, the wine flowed and the music transported us away…

I think I have found my new favourite Croatian band (besides TBF of course) and I have definitely found my favourite winter venue. Honestly, I know it is not easy for businesses to finance themselves through the winter, regardless of what people think, having managed restaurants and bars for years, I know the overhead costs and that profit is marginal in quieter months – so, mad respect to Paradox for doing everything it can to give Split a rich cultural scene!