Kyiv to be jazzed up
Music lovers will be treated to a three-day star-studded jazz fest
The Ukrainian capital will host Jazz in Kyiv–2009 on October 16–18, 2009. The fest is to be honored by Al Jerro and Dave Holland, multiple winners of the Grammy awards. There will also be master classes, club jam sessions, after parties, and jazz cinema nights with Leonid Goldstein.
The music forum will be opened by the Polish band Bester Quartet that will play its original music – a mix of jazz, avant-garde, and Klezmer tunes.
This will be followed by the stellar band of guitarist Mike Stern, which is well-known to the Ukrainian public: drummer Dave Weckl, bassist Chris Minh Doky, and trumpeter Randy Brecker, Grammy holder for the best jazz album in 2009.
The second day will be dedicated to the Ukrainian jazz and jazz-inspired music. The organizers plan to invite the Dudko quintet led by the well-known bassist and ex-member of the band Skhid-Side Denys Dudko and Sviatoslav Vakarchuk’s much-publicized project Vnochi, involving such well-known jazz musicians as Oleksii Saranchyn, Denys Dudko, and Bohdan Humeniuk. Vnochi is Vakarchuk’s artistic experiment in that he has fused elements of jazz and ethnic music in this album.
The forum will be closed by Steve Gadd and Friends. The band’s frontman, Steve Gadd, is one of the most influential drummers of modern times. During his lengthy career he has performed and made records with numerous stars of pop, rock, Latino, fusion, and jazz. Among his music partners are Joe Cocker, Bee Gees, Paul McCartney, John Bon Jovi, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Al di Meola, Michel Petrucciani, Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, and Al Jerro. Gadd will be accompanied to Kyiv by a group of equally notable musicians: organist Joey DeFrancesco, guitarist Paul Bollenbeck and baritone saxophonist Ronnie Kuber.
Jazz in Kyiv–2009 will also offer the unique opportunity of meeting the legendary American band Spyro Gyra, which has released over 30 albums and has been nominated for the Grammy awards 11 times. This is the band that essentially laid the foundation for and entire trend in music, smooth jazz. Now the band has a following all over the world and invariably turns its concerts into bright and unforgettable shows.
