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Felix F. Falk - sax, percussion
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| Matti Klein - piano, Fender Rhodes |
André Seidel - drums
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Tobias Fleischer - bass
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Germany is not exactly known as the home of soul and funk, but after you’ve heard Mo’ Blow from
Berlin you will think differently. The quartet, which is described by the press as one of the
hottest club bands in Europe, has the groove in their blood. Their last album “For those about to
Funk” is refreshingly new, exciting and unconventional.
They have worked hard to earn their reputation as a first-class live act through tours of Germany,
England, Belgium, Russia, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Denmark and France. They have appeared at
festivals like Liburnia Jazz Festival (Croatia), the Jazz Festival Kaliningrad (Russia) or
Jazzopen Hamburg (Germany). Their performance at the Berliner Jazz & Blues Award in 2008 was so
convincing that they were elected winners by both the jury and the audience.
On this basis, it is no wonder that Nils Landgren, who together with his Funk Unit has been the
benchmark artist for big grooves in Europe for decades, became interested in this band and
produced their new album.
Listening to them, it becomes clear that these young German jazz musicians can keep up with the
funk elite in their own exciting way. Felix F. Falk’s original saxophone hooks are outstanding,
and together with Matti Klein’s vibrant performance on the Fender Rhodes piano, Tobias Fleischer’s
full bass and André Seidel’s precise drumming, the quartet simply burst with energy.
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Vladimir Chekasin - saxophones (Lithuania)
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Andrej Kondakov - piano (Russia)
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Leonid Shinkarenko - bass (Lithuania)
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Bruce Cox - drums (USA)
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Nida Jazz Marathon 2011 presents the international project “Midnight Riffs”, which was created
specifically for this festival and is led by the composer, performer and teacher Vladimir
Chekasin, well known to jazz lovers both in Lithuania and abroad. In this project, he included not
only the soul of Nida Jazz Marathon Leonid Shinkarenko, but musicians from abroad as well - Andrej
Kondakov from Russia and Bruce Cox from the USA.
Distinguished by his original projects the legendary Lithuanian jazz musician, composer and
teacher V. Chekasin is described as an emotional, expressive and rational artist. He has recorded
approximately 60 original albums (composed both by him and by other authors), has performed in
Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, India. In the seventies, he founded and performed with the legendary
trio “GTC” (Vyacheslav Ganelin, Vladimir Tarasov, V. Chekasin). V. Chekasin is recognized as the
artist who has laid the foundation for the Lithuanian jazz school. He also held classes in
different European countries, and is the teacher of many known Lithuanian jazz musicians,
including Petras Vysniauskas, Vytautas Labutis, Neda Malunaviciute, Skirmantas Sasnauskas and
others. V. Chekasin has been working in the cinematic and theatrical spheres as well and his works
have received international acclaim - in 1992, the film “Bolero, or provincial melodrama with
emotional outburst”, in which V. Chekasin was the composer and the producer (co-producer - M.
Bezchastnov), won the first prize at the Post-Montreux festival.
Well known in Russia and abroad, pianist and composer A. Kondakov was born in Ukraine. Presented
as a keyboard virtuoso, master of improvisation and an excellent composer, A. Kondakov has been on
the jazz scene since 1978. He has been on tours with the well known Moscow double bass player
Viktor Dvoskin, percussionist Christian Shoyber (Germany), saxophone players Igor Butman (Russia)
and Reiner Witzel (Germany), drummer Lenny White, double bass player Vladimir Volkov and the horn
virtuoso Arkady Shilkloper. In 2002, together with the American guitar player Pole Vollenbek, he
has recorded the album “Alone and Together”, which was nominated as the Album of the Year in
Russia. A. Kondakov performs in New York jazz clubs with various artists too.
The project’s well known bassist, Leonid Shinkarenko, is often referred to as a musician, “who
sings with his bass”. He made his debut in 1981 with the V. Chekasin Quartet and has since
performed with numerous musicians. Since 1997 he leads Leonid Shinkarenko Jazz 4, with whom he
performs his original compositions on various Lithuanian and foreign stages. The newest album
“Island”, which was released earlier this year, distinguishes itself with its maturity and unity;
it not only brings the listeners back to the roots of jazz, but also gets them in the mood to
swing and attempts to provoke them with exotic or unexpected sounds. L. Shinkarenko has recorded
several dozens of albums with various musicians and has performed on many prestiguous world jazz
stages.
American drummer B. Cox has played with such well known jazz musicians as Sonny Rollins, Jon
Hendricks, Dee Dee Bridgewater, David Gilmore, Ravi Coltrane. He became acquainted with music as
he started to play and study xylophone, timpani and snare drum at high school. After graduating,
he studied European classical percussion, later performed at concerts and studied drums under
various musicians. B. Cox moved to France in 1983, where he studied West African Drumming. After
returning to the United States he played with several bands. The drummer’s debut recording
entitled “Stick to it” was released in Europe in 1996 and he has been playing with various
European and American artists ever since.
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| Nathaniel Facey - Rick
James - Marijus Aleksa |
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| Nathaniel Facey - alto saxophone |
Rick
James - bass
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Marijus Aleksa - percussion
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This trio got together while playing in one the best known contemporary jazz evenings in London‘s
“Troy” bar.
Creative young saxophonist, talented musician and composer Nathaniel Facey has, during his short
career, been nominated for various British music awards, intended for evaluating young musicians
and jazz composers as well as the BBC jazz awards for the rising star. In 2010 he won the
Worshipful Company of Musicians' Jazz Medal for Young Musicians. Born in a Jamaican family in
London N. Facey grew up to the sounds of Gospel, Country, Ska, Soul and pop music. Therefore,
while still at school, he started playing recorder, guitar and clarinet. Later N. Facey moved on
to the instrument he had always wanted to play, alto saxophone, and quickly showed an interest for
improvisation. He studied in the Royal Academy of Music, joined various projects and participated
in recordings together with musicians from both Great Britain and other countries. He performs in
various countries all around the world.
Bass guitar player Rick James has performed with such music stars as Daniel Bedingfield, Estell,
Kano, Craig David, Alisha Dickson, Sheek, Tyler James, Shola Ama. Now he plays with one of the
best UK artists, Tinie Tempah.
One of the most distinguished young jazz musicians in Lithuania, drummer Marijus Aleksa made his
stage debut in 1999 at the age of thirteen. He is the winner of several national jazz
competitions. In 2007 he won the first prize at the Baltic States’ Drummers Competition. Having
performed in Europe and USA, M. Aleksa has collaborated with various foreign musicians, such as
the famous Swiss jazz bass player Herbie Kopf, played in jazz festivals abroad. He has played with
many Lithuanian jazz masters, including V. Chekasin, V. Tarasov, P. Vysniauskas, Vytautas Labutis,
Dainius Pulauskas. The drummer plays traditional jazz, fusion, funky, hiphop and their
compositions.
Lo'Jo
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Nadia Nid El Mourid - vocal, percussions
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Yamina Nid El Mourid - vocal, soprano saxophone, percussion, kamel n'goni
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Denis Péan - vocal, keyboards, harmonicas, sampler
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Richard Bourreau - violin, imzad, kora
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Kham Meslien - bass, double bass
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Baptiste Brondy - drums
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At the end of festival programme, one of the best world music groups in the world, Lo’Jo from
France promises not only the original musical cocktail that blends ballads, jazz and African
rhythms, but also a gale of energy on the stage. Nominated for the BBC World Music Award, the
group has gained the appreciation in various countries and cities - from New York to Sydney,
Barcelona and Athens.
The band, which has already enchanted the Lithuanian audience, was created in 1982. Performing on
stages all over the world, the group is called a collective of wanderers, who travel around the
world carrying and gathering its heterogeneous and eclectic music. Lo’Jo combines French chanson,
North African music, jazz, punk, rock and has tried to play numerous different styles. Their charm
emerges both from playing traditional instruments - from Richard‘s Bourreau intensive and gipsy-
like violin performance, the sensitive sounds of the kora, the acrobatic percussions and the
Arabic voices of sisters El Mourid - and from their use of certain rare and mysterious
instruments.
Denis Pean, one of the band’s founders, creates lyrics that mingle French, Spanish, Arabic,
Creole, and English and are described as being somewhere between fables and aphorisms. His vocal
is the reason for some to compare Lo’Jo to the owner of a unique voice, Tom Waits. The
Independent, a UK newspaper, has described this shamanic, unpredictable and unique band as
“probably one of the best live bands in the world right now“. The group is planning to release a
new album in 2012.
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