International Jazz Festival to Be Held in Saransk in November

Veise-Jazz-2002, the first Jazz Festival in the history of Mordovia, will be held in the republic's capital in November. The event is scheduled to coincide in time with the opening in Saransk of the Kovcheg [Ark] - Mainstream jazz club.

According to piano player Alexander Kurin, the leader of the Saransk Kovcheg jazz trio and the organiser of the festival, such word-class stars as Georgy Garanian, Igor Butman, David Goloshchyokin, Alexei Kuznetsov, and the quintet of Viktor Epaneshnikov are expected to attend. Other participants will include so far little-known Finno-Ugrian ethnic jazz musicians. Musicians from Finland, Estonia, and Hungary have confirmed their participation. The Mordovian Torama-Jazz project, which as Mr. Kurin sais, has no parallel anywhere, will become the ethnic zest of the festival.