Not only jazz...

LVIV — For three days jazz reigned in Lviv! The music played at the Alfa Jazz Fest by over a hundred famed musicians from all over the world could be heard at the three concert grounds: two of them in the central part of the city (which were free of charge) and a third one on the gala-stage of Khmelnytsky Park. The jazzman and presenter Oleksii Kohan told The Day that there are few such appealing festivals, able to gather so many interesting people. Indeed, this jazz project is unique for both Lviv and Ukraine in general!

“We believe that this musical event will be continued in upcoming years and will bring a new meaning to Lviv’s festival phenomenon, raising it up to a European status and standards. Moreover, the unique architecture and atmosphere of the city, where numerous tourist and art routes of many countries and continents cross, will reinforce the perception of the jazz music of various styles,” emphasized Kohan.

The Alfa Jazz Fest was opened by the performance of the famed American jazz band Spyro Gyra. Other performers included guitarist John Scofield, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, saxophonist Billy Evans, pianist Jeff Lorber and double bass player Ron Carter. Well-known Russian, Belarusian and Armenian musicians took part in the festival, too — the Russian pianist Andrii Kondakov played together with the Brazil All Stars. Ukraine was represented by Viktor Pavelko, Usein Bekirov, Oleksandr Murenko, Natalia Lebedieva, the Kharkiv Acoustic Quartet and the Lviv band ShockolaD.

The brightest festival performances were accessible not only to those who went to the concerts. The performance by Wynton Marsalis & Igor Butman Quartet was available on-line for Internet users all around the world. The jazz improvisations by the world jazz star Wynton Marsalis and the famed Russian saxophonist Igor Butman were transmitted on Wynton Marsalis’ Facebook account (where they were visited by over 1.8 million fans), on the official website alfajazzfest.com, on the website of Ukrainian Alfa Bank alfabank.com.ua, on the Lviv tourist portal visitlviv.net and on some other European cultural sites. Thus, the grandiose music event in Lviv brought together jazz buffs from all over the world.

The Alfa Jazz Fest atmosphere is a separate issue. Saying that the house was full is nothing! People filled every nook and cranny. The organizers placed screens beyond the concert grounds so that people in nearby glades or turnstiles around the gala-hall could see and hear the world-known jazz players.

It’s interesting that not only the youth had missed the jazz in Lviv: there were quite a lot of middle-aged and elderly people there as well. The latter probably included those who saw Stalin and they remember very well the sacramental Soviet phrase: “Today one plays jazz and tomorrow will sell out the Motherland!”

At the concerts in Khmelnytsky Park we saw the mayor of Lviv Andrii Sadovy and his guests from Kyiv: businessman Petro Poroshenko, TV host Savik Shuster and actor Bohdan Stupka. The whole Vakarchuk family attended the concerts and both the chancellor of the Ivan Franko Lviv University and the leader of the band Okean Elzy reacted to the jazz passages with the same emotions, despite the age difference, and watching them was a real pleasure. It was also nice to watch other people: a three-year-old girl who danced in front of the scene and twenty-somethings who sat between the rows with their eyes closed, only exiting their trance to applaud the artists.

It was good to see the “stars” who finished playing among the people and simply wandering about. The Day asked the Russian guests, the pianist Andrii Kondakov and the saxophonist Igor Butman, about the echo of the events that took place on May 9 in Lviv whether they had any apprehensions about coming?

“I can’t be separated from Ukraine as I was born in Dnipropetrovsk region,” said Kondakov. “I often come to Kyiv. I visited Lviv a couple of years ago and played with the Lviv Philharmonic Society Orchestra and the American singer Denise Crier, and it was just wonderful! I heard something about the events on May 9 in Lviv. As for me, it happens all over the world. For example, we recently played in Estonia where the situation is quite complicated, but I saw that the cultural relations have never been broken and they are very strong regardless of the actions of some parties or individual politicians. I believe that it doesn’t influence the cultural process, the friendship among the musicians and their desire to play together at all. For example, in St. Petersburg they opened a concert hall that presents the Estonian Philharmonic Society and the concerts of Estonian and Petersburger musicians on a regular basis. The same happens in Tallinn. Besides, it concerns not only the music but other arts as well, like theater tours and others. Today I have been informed about the organization of an exhibit in Narva that is very close to the Russian border, where both Estonian and Russian cultures will be presented. So, I think that you shouldn’t have any particularly spoiled relations with Lviv, which is not a separate state within Ukraine, at least for me. Really, it’s a special city with an ancient culture, which makes Lviv different from other Ukrainian places. It seems to me that Ukrainians have to unite, adopt the best from the west, namely the cultural traditions, combine them with the eastern economic potential and use them in order to develop the country. Stop pulling the blanket! You are a country with great opportunities and prospects!”

“The festival was perfectly organized,” remarked the Russian saxophonist Butman. “I’m sure that the Alfa Jazz Fest was the first good attempt but not the last, and all the best and the most interesting is yet to come — I mean the coverage of the most important jazz events. As for the events on May 9, we were coming to you without any concerns as the questions that arose during the May holidays were provoked by a communication gap. Today I walked in the city and heard Leopolitans saying: ‘The Muscovites don’t like us, not vice versa.’ Personally I don’t have any concerns communicating with people; wherever I am I have friends who love good music. We need to communicate to understand each other. We came to you with this purpose. We speak, communicate, we’re ready to conduct a dialog so we’re ready to compromise. If we don’t do it, who will?”

COMMENTARIES

Marianna HUMETSKA, pianist, winner of international contests:

“I have grandiose impressions from the festival! I’m full of energy. All the musicians were fantastic! All of them! Yes, I’ve heard Marsalis and Butman before, but it was a recording. Now I heard them live and I lack the words!!! It was a great pleasure and everybody felt it!”

Andrii SYDOR, the Alfa Jazz Fest co-organizer from Lviv:

“The events taking place in Lviv are fantastic. I don’t believe it and I feel like I’m dreaming. We show Lviv’s real character and the number of people who came to the festival prove that everything’s fine in Lviv — Lviv welcomes guests regardless of their color of skin or religion. Welcome to Lviv!”

Sviatoslav VAKARCHUK, the frontman of the band Okean Elzy:

“As I’ve been in the Alfa Jazz Fest council of trustees from the very beginning, this is something that is close to me; together we selected the people who would play and worried about doing everything well. I can say that nothing disappointed me and everything was alright. There are some issues that we’ll analyze to do everything even better next year! God helped us: not a single drop of rain fell down despite the clouds!”