Planeta Art Agency has been inviting the best jazz musicians from the Baltic countries to Russia for the sixth year. This time they will come to Moscow. Some of them are young, just beginning their path, some are already famous, well representing Her Majesty Improvization.
Bobo Stenson (Sweden) and his trio with Christian Speling and Jon Felt,
Bo Stief (Denmark), Tore Brunborg (Norway) and Krister Jonsson (Sweden) in «Nordic Root»,
and also
Peter Fessler (Germany) with his «Brasiliana» will appear in Moscow.
Art director of the Third International festival «Baltic jazz» will act and will present the international project — Alex Kolosov Blues Moments (Russia-Poland) with Dmitry Jakovlev, Lev Lebedev, Marcin Jahr and Andrzej Chochol.
Pleasure? No doubt!
Each of them expressed the desire to come to Russia. So, buy a ticket, enter the hall «MIR», plunge into an armchair and listen to your heart? s content.
We begin on November 23 at 6 p.m.
JAZZ: AMERICA, EUROPE, AND FURTHER ON... EVERYWHERE...
The time of jazz? coming to Europe depends on what we mean by jazz.
Jazz developed thanks to the mutual influence of European harmony and African rhythms. Saxhorns and saxophones were invented by the Belgian Adolph Sax in the 19th century. About half the roots of jazz can be found in Europe. Jazz was played by Afro-Americans in America, it made a full circle and returned to Europe full of energy and vigour.
Jazz does not come by itself. Instrumental music is not jazz. Musicians keen on improvizing have always regarded it as a kind of the cosmic expression of free human spirit. Jazz is as serious as life itself. It cannot be subordinated to indifferent people with dubious intentions. Perhaps, this is why Europeans consider jazz musicians artists... When Afro-American jazzmen returned home, they immediately realized that they were treated in Europe as artists, and the colour of their skin was a boon rather than a shortcoming.
Real jazz began to cross the Atlantic at the end of World War I. That was one of the major cultural migrations of the 20th century.
During the 1960s jazz began to draw huge masses of people, it even acquired political significance. Many turned to jazz not simply as music, but because it symbolized and embodied freedom.
Jazz is the best artistic expression of freedom. Improvization cannot be subjected to censorship. According to this principle, jazz never repeats itself, that is, nobody knows what can be heard the next moment. Jazz is based on the freedom of speech, freedom in which every participant is able to express himself.
The geography of jazz has changed. Excellent jazz musicians can be found everywhere, and first and foremost in Europe. But jazz is still music for intellectuals, not for everybody. However, more and more Europeans play jazz, learn jazz, teach jazz, listen to jazz. Jazz unites men and women, people of all ages, and colour of skin.
The list of European jazzmen becomes longer with every passing year. Ferenc Schnetberger, Antonello Salis, Paul Rutherford, Bobo Stenson, Paolo Fresu, Niels Lan Doky, Tore Brunberg, Roy Ben Sira, Dominique Pifarelli, Anouar Brahem, Lars Danielsson, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Han Bennink, Miroslav Tadic, Louis Sklavis ... You may know these people, but quite a few are still unknown to you. They all are very popular in Europe. Some of them come from the Middle East, North Africa and from farther away. Such is the situation with «the only American form of art».