Chizh & Co band’s performance will be the final chord of the Koktebel Jazz Party international festival. The musicians shared their impressions of Koktebel and spoke about their upcoming performance.
They confessed that they were very surprised to receive an invitation to the jazz festival.
“It was certainly a great honor for us because we adore jazz and keep listening to it non-stop. Yet, it is another thing altogether that we express our love of jazz in a somewhat different language,” Sergei Chigrakov said.
According to him, they stopped separating music genres a long time ago. “We just play what we enjoy, so there are no worries on our part, absolutely none,” he noted.
The band’s leader said he was shocked by the reception. “Koktebel gave us an awesome welcome. We went to bed just four hours ago because we could not come to our senses after that overwhelming hospitality,” Chigrakov said.
The musicians said they were ready for their set.
“Regrettably, we have only been given 50 minutes and we cannot squeeze everything we want to within this timeframe,” Chigrakov concluded.
The Koktebel Jazz Party international festival is taking place in the artistic village of Koktebel on August 20-22. According to the organizing committee, in order to access the venue guests are required to provide a negative PCR test dated no earlier than August 18, 2021, test of antibodies to COVID-19 S-protein dated no earlier than May 25, 2021, or a COVID-19 vaccination certificate. Performers, VIP guests, the festival’s personnel and journalists are also required to provide one of the three documents: a vaccination certificate, test of antibodies or a negative PCR test.
This year, Koktebel Jazz Party performances will be held in a new format: the shows will be filmed. The festival streams can be found on its website and social media accounts. The number of spectators will be limited.
Koktebel Jazz Party was established in 2003 and it was the idea of journalist Dmitry Kiselev. In different years, the festival was attended by jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb (US), winner of a Grammy Award for the best Latin Jazz album Gonzalo Rubalcaba (Cuba), many-time Grammy winner trumpeter Randy Brecker (US), best baritone saxophonist of the last decade Gary Smulyan (US), nu-jazz stars Club Des Belugas (Germany), and one of the most talented representatives of the modern world blues scene, guitarist Selwyn Birchwood (US).
Vladimir Putin was a guest of KJP-2017. The festival is organized by the Krasny Kvadrat (Red Square) media group.