One of the most important jazz rock and classic jazz musicians of the past 50 years, French composer and violinst Jean-Luc Ponty will be one of the headliners at the 2012 Nišville jazz festival. Ponty's inclusion in the festival had already been planned in previous years, but had to be postponed due to touring conflicts. Famed jazz publicist Joachim Berent credits Ponty with beginning a new era in jazz, comparing his phrasing on the violin to the improvisational style of John Coltrane among others.

Ponty was born in 1942, and his career took off almost immediately following the release of his first solo album in 1964. Two years later he recorded 'Violin Summit' with jazz legends Svend Asmussen, Stephane Grappelli and Stuff Smith. Ponty went on to work with some of the biggest names in jazz during the second half of the decade, and moved to America at the end of the 1960s while collaborating frequently with Frank Zappa, who composed the music for Ponty next solo release King Kong in 1969. In the early 1970s, Ponty signed with Atlantic records, and has since produced 12 consecutive albums that have made it into the Billboard Top 5 Jazz rankings. Last year Ponty officially sealed his place in the upper echelons of the jazz world after being awarded the prestigious Legends of Jazz award during the Cork Jazz Festival.