All that jazz

Moscow’s Triumph of Jazz festival lands in St. Petersburg for the first time.

By Daniel Kozin

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: February 20, 2013 (Issue # 1747)

The 13th edition of Moscow’s Triumph of Jazz festival is making its way to the northern capital for the first time this year. The two concerts included on the St. Petersburg program will be held Feb. 24 at the St. Petersburg State Jazz Philharmonic and Feb. 25 at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall.

The annual event has been held in Moscow since 2000 and is one of Russia’s biggest jazz events of the year, bringing celebrated jazz musicians from around the world to perform alongside Russia’s own stars.

The St. Petersburg version of the program kicks off Sunday at the city’s premier jazz venue with a concert by Grammy-nominated New York pianist Bill Charlap and his trio, renowned for their interpretations of jazz standards. The pianist has recorded for the Blue Note label and was described by Time magazine as a musician that “approaches a song the way a lover approaches his beloved… no matter how imaginative or surprising his take on a song is, he invariably zeroes in on its essence.”

Monday’s program features legendary American drummer Roy Haynes and his Fountain of Youth band. A jazz veteran, Haynes has been playing since the 1940s and has collaborated with some of the best jazz musicians of the century. He is the only surviving member of the Charlie Parker Quintet, and was a member of John Coltrane’s quartet in the 1960s. He also a received Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.

The event will also see jazz-funk pioneer Lee Ritenour and his band perform, as well as Australian singer Fantine. The Moscow Jazz Orchestra, led by festival organizer and renowned Russian saxophonist Igor Butman, is also scheduled to perform.

The Triumph of Jazz festival takes place 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the St. Petersburg State Jazz Philharmonic (27 Zagorodny Prospekt, tel. 764 8565), and 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25 at the Oktyabrsky Concert Hall (6 Ligovsky Prospekt, tel. 275 1300).