When Vasil Hadžimanov was challenged by UN Serbia to compose a jazz piece about the Sustainable Development Goals, he was ready to give it his best effort but wasn’t expecting a hit.

“Reach Out” – recorded and produced by Zeljko Veljkovic at Cunami Studios in Belgrade – is a unique mash-up of smooth jazz, Balkan folk instrumentals, Hadzimanov on piano, and haunting vocals by Vukasin Markovic and the composer’s 15-year-old daughter Marta.

The song’s lyrics manage to cover all 17 of the global goals adopted by world leaders in September last year. Hunger, corruption, pollution, poverty, disease, water scarcity, inequality and the world’s other pressing problems become energizing music that appeals to listeners of all ages. Hadzimanov talked with FAO last week.

It’s unusual to hear jazz supporting social causes. Is this a first?
“I’m sure I’m not the first one. But I do think it’s important when you’re able as a public figure or an artist to capture attention, that you do your part. Since we have the means to get to the media, we have a chance to actually send a message and try to stir things up a little.”

What were the challenges for you as a composer of this piece?
“I’ve been doing all kinds of musical genres, also film scoring and different projects – not only my own work with the band. But this was special. It wasn’t easy, I must say. They (UN Serbia) wanted the jazz, the Balkan flavour, the messages . . . but nothing too avant garde.

“About the words, it is not easy to find writers and poets who work in English, and to not have it sound like a speech. In the end I think we succeeded, though.” [The song’s lyrics are by Svebor Šakić and Dejan Mandić. Ed.]

‘Reach Out’ includes vocals by your daughter Marta. Tell us about that.
“Marta is 15 and she comes from a family of musicians – myself, my mother and my father, my mother’s sister . . . also my wife Nataša’s mother . . . Marta has had her guest appearances with us in concerts, but we weren’t the ones who pushed her to sing publicly. It’s not something we insist on. But she’s all into music and it’s obvious what she’s going to do.

“The way I composed the song, the adult singer Vukasin asks the questions, and Marta, from the younger generation, answers with the refrain, ‘Now is the time to change our world, reach out to the world around you . . .’”

Name your top personal influences in music.
“There are so many! I fell in love with jazz as a teenager. Miles Davis, Weather Report, Wayne Shorter, Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock – I would say those were the most important. But there were many influences. I am really open about music and art in general. I love listening to all kinds of music from all parts of the world.

“I’m heavily influenced by Balkan music. In this very small geographic area, there are so many different styles, instruments. It’s so rich in culture, music – like a treasure that you’ve found.” [Hadzimanov notes that he has family roots in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Slovenia, and was born in Serbia. Ed.]

‘Zero Hunger’ in our lifetime – that’s one of the goals. Your thoughts?
“If you look at the statistics, at how much money goes to military budgets and wars and arms, it’s amazing. With that money we could solve the hunger problem in the whole world. It’s so close, it’s within our reach, but our priorities are completely wrong. It’s like it says in the song, people need to wake up.

“In this modern society, where everything is in the hands of people with the money and the power, I still believe that if we try, we are actually going to change this planet. It’s a little hippie and optimistic of me, but I don’t think I could live if I didn’t think that way.”

15 February 2016, Belgrade, Serbia