The festival is organised by the Arkadiy Ukupnik Production Centre and Igor Butman Music Group company with the support of Rietumu Bank and its Charity Fund.
Foto: Mixnews.lv
The World Jazz Festival will become one of the brightest musical events of the year in Latvia, with the participation of world famous jazz stars and winners of international awards. Among them are the recognised American jazz diva and winner of two Grammy awards Cassandra Wilson, jazz-rock and fusion legends guitarist Lee Ritenour and pianist Dave Grusin; one of the most popular European jazzmen, trumpeter and vocalist Till Brцnner, outstanding jazz vocalist Gino Vannelli, Australian vocalist Fantine and world famous saxophone player Igor Butman with his Moscow Jazz Orchestra.
To create the feeling of a real jazz holiday, open concerts of Russian, American, Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian jazzmen will take place in Dome Square in Riga. Admission to these concerts will be free; the concerts will take place with the support of the Rietumu Bank Charity Fund.
On the eve of the festival, a press conference dedicated to the festival opening was held in Riga, with the participation of its organisers Arkadiy Ukupnik and Igor Butman, the Deputy Chairman of the Rietumu Bank Council Arkadiy Suharenko, Cassandra Wilson, Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour.
The press conference was opened by Arkadiy Ukupnik, who said, “The idea of the World Jazz Festival originated with me and my fellow-thinker and friend Igor Butman a year ago accidentally, at a dinner in one of the hotels where we turned out to be staying at the same time. And now we see that this idea is obtaining its flesh and blood. The first festival of world jazz will take place and it will be grandiose!”
“This festival is something I have dreamed about for a long time. I am very glad that it will take place in Riga – one of my favourite cities in the world. I think that it is due to big luck, and to some extent it is a miracle, that an event of such a level could be organised in such a short term – just a year.
I am very grateful to all who have believed in our dream from the start and rendered the required help to us – this is Rietumu Bank,” noted Igor Butman.
“I would like to congratulate Riga residents on having the opportunity to see world stars of jazz music with their own eyes and personally enjoy their art.
I remember that when I was young, jazz was the music of freedom for me, as jazz is always improvisation, artistry and intellectuality. This music is loved by people of all ages and professions – ministers, politicians, businessmen, intellectuals and housewives. It brings nations and cultures together, which is very important for all of us today,” noted Arkadiy Suharenko.
The concerts will take place on 30 and 31 July at Arena Riga and on the open-air stages of the city. See the details on the festival website.
The participants of the festival were 17 teams from Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and other countries of the CIS and Europe. Their performances were assessed by a competent jury which included the permanent member of the KVN (The Club of the Happy and Inventive) jury, film director Yuli Gusman, Laima Vaikule, Pelageya, Oleg Znarok, Vladislav Tretiak, Valdis Pelsh, Igor Vernik, Valeri Syutkin. The winner of the festival was the Soyuz team from Tyumen who received the main award – The Big KiViN in Gold.
