Moscow to host national jazz festival soon

The Moscow-based house of composers is to host the first-ever national jazz festival called "All Jazz Stars" March 26-28, the festival's art director and famous Russian jazz musician Anatoly Kroll told RIA Novosti here today.

Moscow now hosts one-time jazz festivals involving foreign performers, in the first place, Kroll said. This is very good; meanwhile we would also like to acquaint jazz fans with our top-notch jazz musicians and composers, Kroll stressed.

Kroll, who heads the creative jazz commission of the Union of Composers after the death of composer Yury Saulsky, said that he tried hard to implement Saulsky's ideas; for instance, Saulsky wanted jazz to become more popular with the masses.

According to the festival's director, this event will involve about 15 orchestras, ensembles and solo players, including Oleg Lundstrem's jazz orchestra, Igor Butman's big jazz band, as well as the young Academic Band.

The organizers of the festival are the Union of Moscow Composers, Anatoly Kroll's Centre of Jazz Music and the House of Composers.

We are glad that the organizers of this jazz festival, which will highlight absolutely different Russian-jazz concepts and achievements, have chosen the house of composers, Oleg Galakhov, who heads the Moscow house of composers, noted.