Moscow musician Boris Bazurov. Photo: Yevgeny Bazurov
By Sergey ChernovThe St. Petersburg Times
Published: July 16, 2014 (Issue # 1820)
Petrojazz, a two-day outdoor event at the Peter and Paul Fortress that blends jazz and world music, opens this weekend for the 10th time. More than 30 bands will perform, including some of the finest acts from Europe, and they will be presented by Vladimir Feyertag, arguably St. Petersburg’s most respected jazz music researcher and author.
This year, the festival will also call on the public to help cats and dogs that have suffered from human cruelty.
Petrojazz was launched in 2003 by a group of jazz enthusiasts who happened to be CEOs from telecommunication companies, said the festival’s current organizer Innokenty Volkomorov, who joined the festival two years later.
Originally called the Peter and Paul International Jazz Music Festival, it has changed its name a few times during its history. It also skipped a year in 2007 due to an economic crisis, so it is being held for the 10th time this year, rather than for the 11th.
“They [the organizers] didn’t think St. Petersburg was any worse than towns like Pori or The Hague,” said Volkomorov speaking to The St. Petersburg Times ahead of the festival, which opens on Friday.
“Similar events are held in towns throughout Europe that support local culture and bring money to the town. Pori is an indistinguishable Finnish town, with a pulp and paper mill, a population of 80,000 and nothing very exciting – but once a year over 100,000 people come from across Europe for Pori Jazz, where musicians perform on dozens of stages simultaneously.
“Why not St. Petersburg? It has the Peter and Paul Fortress, an island which forms a natural stage. Why could not we organize a European festival, where people could come, listen to the music, lie on the beach, have some food and some drinks, move from one stage to the other and hear lots of diverse music throughout the day?”
This year, the event boasts a number of European acts, brought to St. Petersburg with the help of the Italian, Danish and French cultural missions.
From Italy comes Shine, a duo featuring virtuoso pianist Kekko Fornarelli, regarded as one of best jazz pianists in Italy, and vocalist Roberto Cherillo, who has been praised as having the third best male voice in Italy. The ensemble blends jazz, rock and trip hop, and will perform on Friday.
Read more: http://www.sptimesrussia.com/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=40342
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