The traveling festival Jazz Province covers 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) every year, visiting 10 Russian cities.
The international music festival Jazz Province wrapped up this year with a concert in Pskov. In the space of a month its performers had visited over 10 Russian cities — from Krasnoyarsk in the north to Krasnodar in the south. Thanks to its travelling format, Jazz Province is already in its 17th year of bringing quality music to jazz lovers who live far from the cultural capitals.
More than including the word “province” in the festival’s name, the project’s creators ceded first place not to Moscow or St. Petersburg, but to the center of world jazz — New York. Finances make it impossible to invite the most famous jazz performers, but the festival boasts brilliant world-class jazz musicians and little-known Russian jazz groups. It also offers master classes for music students and meetings with the legends of Soviet jazz.
This year, the famous American saxophonist Ernie Watts performed at Jazz Province. Watts first made his name in the 1960s. Today his solos are taught in music schools, but his “Highway Blues” (recorded with Marc Seales) is familiar to most computer users as part of Music Models Windows XP.
FULL STORY AT RUSSIA BEHIND HEADLINES
