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Current music from and about Ukraine and its people- no politics, please.

February 2023, was the ‘San Jose Jazz Winter Fest: Counterpoint With Ukraine.’

From their press release: “Through the power of the arts, the more than two-week SJZ WINTER FEST unveils the incredible artistry of musicians currently living in war-time Ukraine including Borys Mohylevskyi (saxophonist), Dennis Adu (trumpeter), and Yakiv Tsvietinskyi (trumpeter), as well as Ukrainian artists Alina Sokulska (dancer), Igor Osypov (guitarist), Olesya Zdorovetska (vocalist), DJs Karine and Shakolin, and U.S.-based Vadim Neselovsky (pianist). The American artists performing include Jazzmeia Horn with the Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Ambrose Akinmusire & Rafiq Bhatia, Madison McFerrin, GEORGE Featuring a solo by Dancer Alina Sokulska, the SJZ High School All-Stars playing arrangements of John Hollenbeck, Kassa Overall, Orrin Evans, Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Mark Guiliana, Vân-Ánh Võ, and the SJZ Collective.”

This Stereophile article led me to learn about the Fest and do the post upthread about jazz guitarist Igor Osypov:

Jazz at a Dark Moment: the 2023 San Jose Jazz Winter Fest, by Thomas Conrad, Jul 12, 2023. ~5 performances are discussed in the article.

Additional posts are planned about the above artists. ~4 complete shows from the Fest are on YT, and will be linked to in the posts.

The vid is a Bay Area USA TV news story about the fest, and shows Dennis Adu’s plight as his home is torn asunder. :cool:

 
Bringing this thread back to life, as a memoriam to the OP, @Xulonn . RIP.

LabelWhoAble’ is a Ukrainian record label founded in 2016 by Bogdan Gumenyuk. The label is home to both promising and widely respected jazz musicians from Ukraine and worldwide. The last update on their Facebook page is Oct 2022…. :( Looks like they released ~11 albums. Here’s one of their artists.

AllAboutJazz: “Dennis Adu was born in 1987 in Ghana. When he was 2 years old his family moved to Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. He started playing the trumpet when he was 7, and when he turned 8 he was invited to play with the Alexander Gebel Orchestra." He has led his own bands since 2012. He’s released 2 very nice modern jazz albums.

His 1st album was 2017s Influences and included: Andrew Gould - alto saxophone; Dmytro Aleksandrov - tenor and soprano saxophone; Michael Dease - trombone; Pavlo Lytvynenko - piano, Rhodes; Linda May Han Oh - bass; Mike Karn - bass; Pavlo Galytskyi - drums.

Recommended in the Jazz Music thread: Michael Dease Next Best Thing and Linda May Han Oh The Glass Hours.

In 2021 he released Sunlight Above The Sky, mainly with Ukrainian labelmates: Boris Mogylevskiy — alto sax; Lucas Pino — tenor sax; Alexander Charkin — trombone; Glenn Zaleski — piano; Alexander Yemets — upright bass; Pavel Galitsky — drums and cymbals. The albums are snappier than the melancholy video. :cool:

Dennis Adu, Influences, full album: YouTube link ; Spotify link ; Bandcamp link

Dennis Adu, Sunlight Above The Sky, full album: YouTube link ; Spotify link ; Bandcamp link

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The 'archaeological' Ukrainian label Shukai recently released Svitlana Nianio's record Transilvania Smile, recorded in 1994-1995. As they say on their Bandcamp page, 'Svitlana Okhrimenko (artist name: Svitlana Nianio) is a Ukrainian artist, musician, and signer. She is one of the most prominent representatives of the independent music scene of Kyiv in the late 1980s — early 90s. .. Svitlana still performs and publishes new recordings today.'

Transilvania Smile is music for a dance theater performance. Maybe you could call it experimental folk, but it's not really folk and it's not completely experimental either. Feels a bit otherwordly, somewhat sad and very beautiful.

Bandcamp/Tidal/Youtube

 
A new album by a guitar virtuoso. Also posted in the Jazz Music thread.

AllAboutJazz. Ukrainian guitarist Roman Miroshnichenko plays Stas Namin is ~30 minutes of excellent fusion shredding and interplay, with a tight band and some help from the London Symphony Orchestra. Guitarists Mike Stern and Jennifer Batten guest, among others. FYI, Stas Namin is leader of the rock band Gorky Park. :cool:

Roman Miroshnichenko, Roman Miroshnichenko plays Stas Namin, full album: free YouTube ; Spotify ; Bandcamp

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