Jazz Across Borders

SAXOPHONIST, PRODUCER, PEOPLE’S ARTIST OF RUSSIA,
PRESIDENT OF IGOR BUTMAN MUSIC GROUP,
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF MOSCOW JAZZ ORCHESTRA,
PRESIDENT OF JAB FORUM&FESTIVAL

IGOR BUTMAN

Igor Butman is justly considered as the top advocate of Russian jazz art in the world. In 1999 he founded his internationally acclaimed Igor Butman Orchestra (now — Moscow Jazz Orchestra),  Quartet and Quintet, described by DownBeat Magazine as «an outfit of virtuosos». In past 20 years Igor Butman along with his bands toured dozens of countries and performed at the world’s biggest festivals.

Igor Butman released 17 albums both as a leader and co-leader, including Magic Land (Sony Classical) featuring Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci, Stefon Harris and Randy Brecker. 

Igor Butman Music Group, led by Mr Butman, consists of the Igor Butman Jazz Club in Moscow, the Butman Music Records and the biggest Russian jazz concert agency IBMG, which runs 12 jazz festivals in Russia and represents the finest Russian artists abroad.

In 2016 Igor Butman was elected the President of the Russian Authors’ Society (Russian equivalent of ASCAP). In 2018 he became the initiator and co-artistic director (along with Herbie Hancock) of the International Jazz Day in St. Petersburg.

Since 2019 Mr Butman has been the head of the first Jazz Academy in thehistory of Russia.

Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist

Lee Ritenour

Lee Ritenour has maintained a delicate balance between the individual creative vision and the group dynamic, since the beginning of his career. He did his first session work in the late ‘60s with the Mamas and the Papas, who dubbed him Captain Fingers for demonstrating incredible dexterity while still in his teens. Since his early recordings in the 1970s, he has earned a Grammy Award and 19 Grammy nominations, numerous #1 spots on guitar polls, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian SJ Awards, and a prestigious “Alumnus of the Year” Award from the University of Southern California. 

He has recorded more than 40 albums that have yielded 35 chart songs. As a young guitarist, he put his combination of diverse musical styles and brilliant technical chops to work on more than 3,000 sessions with a broad spectrum of artists, and was a founding member of Fourplay, which is considered the most successful group in contemporary jazz. 

Grammy and Tony Award-winning Jazz Singer, USA

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Over the course of a multifaceted career spanning four decades, Grammy and Tony Award-winning Jazz giant Dee Dee Bridgewater has ascended to the upper echelon of vocalists, putting her unique spin on standards, as well as taking intrepid leaps of faith in re-envisioning jazz classics. Ever the fearless voyager, explorer, pioneer and keeper of tradition, the three-timeGrammy-winner most recently won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Eleanora Fagan(1915-1959): To Billie With Love From Dee Dee.

Bridgewater’s career has always bridged musical genres. She earned her first professional experience as a member of the legendary Thad Jones/Mel Louis Big Band, and throughout the70’s she performed with such jazz notables as Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon andDizzy Gillespie.

Bridgewater also pursued a parallel career in musical theater, winning a Tony Award for her role as Glinda in The Wiz in 1975 Having recently completed a run as the lead role of Billie Holiday in the off-Broadway production of Lady Day, her other theatrical credits include SophisticatedLadies, Black Ballad, Carmen, Cabaret, and the Off-Broadway and West End Productions of LadyDay, for which Bridgewater received the British Laurence Olivier Nomination for Best Actress in aMusical.

As a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),Bridgewater continues to appeal for international solidarity to finance global grassroots projects in the fight against world hunger. She is currently on tour worldwide in support of Memphis, her new CD, and in April of this year was the recipient of an NEA Jazz Masters Fellows Award with honors bestowed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Artistic director of the Yaroslavl Jazz Center, the producer of the oldest Russian jazz
festival “Jazz Over the Volga River”, director of the Jazz Research Center.

Igor Gavrilov

The Yaroslavl Jazz Center is a municipal organization, serving as the successor of theYaroslavl Jazz Lovers Club (1974) that got its own building in 1999 Igor regularly organizes concerts, the international festival “Jazz Over the Volga River”, and jazzs team boat cruises. The Yaroslavl Jazz Center also offers a platform for the national jazz archive known as the Jazz Research Center.

Igor was the head of the organizing committee of the Soviet Jazz Federation that was formed in 1988 and disbanded after the Soviet Union collapsed.Igor Gavrilov has sparked public interest in the birth of Russian jazz (October 1, 1922) by corresponding on this topic with the President and the Russian Ministry of Culture over the last 15 years.

Executive director and founder of the creative agency RED EVENTS, creative director of Moscow
State University’s Botanical Garden “Aptekarsky Ogorod”

Alexander Almin

In 2015 Alexander graduated from Moscow State Open University with a degree inInternational Economic Relations.

Since 2015 Alexander has been the creative director of MSU Botanical Garden “Aptekarsky Gorod”. In 2017 he founded the creative agency RED EVENTS, serving as its executive director ever since. He is also the founder of the contemporary art festival ARS HORTUS (2018), founder of the international opera festival BAROCCO NIGHTS (2019), founder of the contemporary music festival XVOYA Neoclassic fest. (2020), and the executive director of the Jazz City Festival (2019).

For the last 10 years, Alexander has been actively engaged in developing city parks and public spaces, creating and promoting new cultural centers, popularizing academic and jazz music, and producing artists and bands.

Director and Co-Founder of Wax Booking Agency, France

Sylvain Dartoy

Passionate about African cultures, entrepreneur, tireless traveller and co-founder of WaxBooking Agency in 2010, he has since devoted himself to artistic production. His main idea is to present Africa and its resonance in the world in all its diversity and modernity. A true talent scout, producer of international tours and shows, he is one of the European references in his specialties.

Editor-in-chief of Citizen Jazz, France

Matthieu Jouan

Matthieu Jouan is the editor-in-chief of Citizen Jazz (www.citizenjazz.com) and Epistrophy journal (www.epistrophy.fr). Author of a book on Rahsaan Roland Kirk (Harmattan, 1999). Editor of “Passage en revue: 15 years of Citizen Jazz” (collective – JEMI, 2016). Curator of theCentenary of Jazz in Europe (2018). Ambassador of the Land of Liege. Member of the EuropeMedia Charts and the French Victoires du Jazz.

Advisor of Foreign Relations in Estonian Ministry of Culture

Madli-Liis Parts

Madli-Liis Parts has been working at the Estonian Ministry of Culture, where she started as the Music Advisor, since 2016, continuing her career as the Advisor of Foreign Relations since fall 2021 She has been a committed music journalist for more than 20 years. She is also one of the founders and an incumbent member of Europe Jazz Media Group. She was the project manager of Jazzkaar Festival´s education program for young jazz journalists in2002-2008 and the initiator of International Jazz Appreciation Month activities in Estonia, leading the project throughout 2004-2008.

Madli-Liis is an experienced communication and reputation-building mentor for solo artists, groups, and participants in various events both in Estonia and abroad. She has been the executive manager of Estonian Composers’ Union and the long-time organizer of the major festival of Estonian contemporary classical music – Estonian Music Days. Her brainchild, a2014 multiple awards-winning music education project called “Mini Estonian Music Days”,was the first festival in Estonia to give school kids an opportunity to organise a music festival with the guiding help of mentors.

Madli-Liis’ career record has also seen her as the program coordinator of the project “Tallinn– European Capital of Culture 2011”, the program leader for Tallinn Culture Cauldron, the music program coordinator for the Estonian young producers program “EK:Labor”, and a producer and curator of multiple international music festivals and projects.Her work in the music industry has taken her across Scandinavia, Europe, the USA, andNorthern Africa.

Artistic Director for Toronto Downtown Jazz (TDJ), Canada

Josh Grossman

Josh Grossman is Artistic Director for Toronto Downtown Jazz (TDJ), producer of the annual TD Toronto Jazz Festival, one of Canada’s largest international music festivals.Josh is a trumpeter and a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Jazz PerformanceProgram; he is the founding Artistic Director and Conductor for the 18-piece TorontoJazz Orchestra, now in its 22nd year.

Josh has served as Performance Manager for The Glenn Gould School at The RoyalConservatory; Manager for the High Park Choirs of Toronto (now called Young VoicesToronto); and Operations Manager for Continuum Contemporary Music, one ofCanada’s top contemporary chamber ensembles. Josh was Artistic Director for the Markham Jazz Festival from 2006 to 2009

Producer, founder and President of EMM (Edelman Music Management), USA

Jeff Edelman

Edelman Music Management is one of the most renowned promotion agencies that operate across the post-Soviet space. EMM has cooperated with numerous prominent musicians from the US and Europe.

Besides collaborating with world-famous artists across multiple genres, EMM focuses on talent scouting and international promotion. Jeff Edelman runs workshops and webinars on international music management and interviews famous musicians as part of his “BackstageStories with Jeff Edelman” project. Jeff can find promising new artists before they become known to the wider pubic.

Jeff Edelman and EMM have cooperated with such artists as Larry Coryell, Seamus Blake,Dennis Chambers, Lenny White, Scott Henderson, Christian Galvez, Frank Gambale, StanleyJordan, Scott Kinsey, Hadrien Feraud, Frank McComb, Sy Smith, Quentin Moore, Garry Willis,Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, Kazumi Watanabe, Anthony David, Jeff Berlin, Сarmen Rodgers, and many others.

CEO of Prime Tours & Promotion, Germany

Georg Pfaab

In 1992 Georg co-founded Transatlantico Tours & Services, a Berlin-based booking company which soon turned into the leading agency for Brazilian artists in Europe, later on promoting a variety of artists, such as Youssou N D́ our, Branford Marsalis, Caetano Veloso, Incognito,Cassandra Wilson, Jazzkantine, Khaled, Noa, Cheikh Lô, Ruben Gonzales & Ibrahim Ferrer, AlJarreau, Goran Bregovic, Manu Chao, and Toto.

In 2006 he founded Prime Tours & Promotion, a live-booking agency and tour-promoter based in Berlin for artists in jazz, world, and pop music. Initially specializing in the German-speakingarea, the agency currently offers a full European-wide tour service that includes booking, production, tour-promotion and accounting.

In long years of work experience, Prime Tours & Promotion has become a boutique agency for selected artists to establish them on the music market and help them build a sustainable career. The artists list includes Mariza (Portugal), Barbara Pravi (France), Diego el Cigala (Spain),Estrella Morente (Spain), Al Jarreau (USA), Faada Freddy (Senegal/France), Amadou & Mariam(Mali), Souad Massi (Algeria/France), ZAZ (France), Sophie Hunger (Switzerland), Madredeus (Portugal), Anna Maria Jopek (Poland), Gustavo Santaolalla (Argentina), Nitin Sahwney (UK),Lisa Simone (France/USA), and Rosanne Cash (USA).

The principal of Depth of Field Management

Darryl Pitt

Darryl Pitt has worked with a diverse array of artists including Andreas Vollenweider, Simon & Garfunkel, Michael Brecker, Don Grolnick, Kurt Elling, The Bad Plus, Mariko Takahashi, Regina Carter,Before becoming an artist manager, Pitt was a photographer and later became a driving force of both the New Age music phenomenon and, separately, thePitt is the founder of the Macovich Collection of Meteorites. Institutions that have acquired meteorites from Pitt include the Natural History Museum (London), TheAcademy of Sciences (Beijing and Moscow) and the Smithsonian.

Pitt has produced concerts at Carnegie Hall and is the co-producer of the Nearness of You concerts honoring Michael Brecker that have featured Chaka Khan, JamesTaylor, Paul Simon, Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves, Bobby McFerrin and more.

Artistic director of Timitar Festival, Visa For Music Showcase Festival, expert on cultural policy and creative industries at the UNESCO, Morocco

Brahim El Mazned

As a member of the EU/UNESCO Bank of Expertise 2019-2022, and an expert on cultural policy and creative industries at the UNESCO for several years, Brahim El Mazned is also a member of the jury and artistic adviser for numerous cultural events in Morocco and across the world.  

After more than twenty years of active participation in the cultural sector, Brahim El Mazned is considered today as an essential reference in the organisation of major artistic events and musical programming in Morocco and around the world. 

 Since 2004, Brahim El Mazned has been the artistic director of  Timitar Festival, an event mainly dedicated to Amazigh culture, which was made known throughout the world and which has become one of the major events in the world of music. Besides promoting the Amazigh (Berber) culture, the festival welcomes more than 600 artists and receives around half a million audience each year.

In 2014, Brahim El Mazned launched Visa For Music (VFM), the first festival/professional market dedicated to singers and musicians from Africa and the Middle East, which now takes place every year in November in Rabat (Morocco).

As a founder of the ANYA cultural enterprise, Brahim El Mazned has taken part in about a hundred conferences and has initiated dozens of artistic residencies in many countries and regions around the world (Brazil, France, Spain, Australia, United States, Canada, Reunion Island, New Caledonia, Madagascar, South Africa, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal, Norway, Greece, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon…). He has taken part in the recording and publishing of dozens of albums, as well as in the organisation of hundreds of concerts in prestigious festivals and venues across the five continents. In addition to this, he has participated in a multitude of meetings and workshops aimed at developing cultural expertise.

Producer and artistic director of OLLN KAN Portugal Festival and MIMO Portugal Festival

Carlos Bartilotti

Graduate in International Relations. Post graduate in cultural management.

Producer and artistic director of OLLN KAN Portugal Festival and MIMO Portugal Festival. Trainer at UNESCO in the area of music management in Mozambique. Tour in :  Spain, France, UK, Germany,Holland, Belgium, Liechenstein, Norway, Sweden, Canada, USA, Russia,  Mozambique, Cabo Verde, Mexico, Brasil, China, World music markets :  Spain, France, UK, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Canada, Marrocos , Cabo Verde, Mexico, Colombia.

vocalist, composer, jazz professor and artistic director of JAZZ INSTITUT BERLIN

Céline Rudolph

Vocalist and composer Céline Rudolph glides between Berlin, São Paulo, Paris and New York, between tongues and genres, always landing in the very heart of music. 

She studied vocal jazz and composition at Hochschule der Künste Berlin with mentors David Friedman, Jerry Granelli, Kirk Nurock, Jay Clayton and Catherine Gayer. Soon, she plunged into African music and studied with the percussionist Famoudou Konaté in West Africa. Her love of Brazilian music led her to São Paulo where she met Rodolfo Stroeter who produced three of her albums and four tours across Europe and Brazil so far: The albums are BRAZAVENTURE, METAMORFLORES (enja records) and SALVADOR (Verve, Universal). 

Since 2015 she is collaborating with Beninese guitarist Lionel Loueke, having recorded the duo album OBSESSION and then playing together at 12th Jarasum International Jazz Festival in South Korea. The album OBSESSION reached the annual list of the German Critics Award „Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik“, and won Céline Rudolph the prestigious German Jazz Award ECHO JAZZ 2018 for best jazz vocalist. 

Now, praised as “a jewel of European jazz vocals” by the French radio station, TSF, having recorded numerous albums with many wonderful musicians including Gary Peacock, Bob Moses, Naná Vasconcelos, Diego Figueiredo and Marcos Suzano, and esteemed by colleagues like Bobby McFerrin, Lee Konitz or Jay Clayton, the adventurous pearl fisher sailed from Berlin to Brooklyn for her latest album PEARLS (released 2019). 

President of Concerts & Touring at Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC)

Georgina Javor

Georgina Javor is the President of Concerts & Touring at Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) where she oversees the strategy, budget and implementation of concert programming at Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City and the national and international touring operations of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. 

Previously, she was the Assistant Director of Programming at JALC, managing and curating the programming at Dizzy’s Club and working on mainstage, festival and special event programming. From April 2004 to August 2014, she worked at the Music Center at Strathmore in the Washington, D.C. area, first as part of the public relations and marketing team to open the space in February 2005, and then as Director of Programming. She set the vision for Strathmore’s programming in the 110-seat Music Room, outdoor concert series, artist residencies, and festivals, acted as the administrator for the visual arts program, and was part of the team that launched Strathmore’s 250-seat venue, AMP. 

Prior to her time at Jazz at Lincoln Center and Strathmore, she worked in production for the Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary, Broadway: The American Musical. 

She graduated with distinction from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2003 and completed her MBA at Georgetown University in 2012. She acted as a judge for the Riga Jazz Stage Contest in Latvia in 2018 and 2019, participated as a panelist at Jazz Congress and Chamber Music America in New York City, and has led workshops for emerging artists at Strathmore and New York University. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for The Westerlies and administers the Imani Winds Chamber Music Festival.

Head of Tavrida art cluster

Sergey Pershin

Many years of experience in managing federal and international public projects. Organization of effective teams in the field of culture and art, creative industries. Creation of the largest creative project in Russia – Tavrida art cluster.

Founder and Artistic Director A to JazZ Festival

Peter Dimitrov

Peter Dimitrov is the founder and Artistic Director of multiple festivals and events across Bulgaria.He is particularly famous as the founder of the annual A to JazZ Festival, the CEO of the UnmutedMedia LLC event agency, and the Director of the Mediamix International Festival (2012). He alsoheads the AtoZ Foundation. In 2018, he initiated Sofia’s application to host the European JazzConference in 2020

Dimitrov has also established himself as a skilled producer. He was a co-author of the Recipe forCulture Bulgarian TV show (2005-2009), a co-producer and the host of the Party East of Heavenmusic radio program (2009-2011), and the producer of the first “concert movie” to have ever takenplace in Bulgaria – Lord of Rings in Concert (2014-2015).

In 2019, Peter Dimitrov shared his vast expertise becoming the chief lecturer of the Culture EventsManagement course at the Amadeus Art Academy in Sofia.

Head of WOMEX Special Projects, France/Germany


Christine Semba

Consultant, curator and networker, for music and cultural industries. Since 2013, Christine is the head of WOMEX Special Projects, where she has contributed to the creation and development of events for music professionals, conventions and festivals such as Porto Musical, Brazil; Circulart, Colombia; Primera Linea, Cuba; Atlantic Music Expo, Cabo Verde; SOTX Music Expo, China. She has also developed a broad range of international cooperation projects.

She is also the Head of the WOMEX Academy, a capacity building and fellowship programme for music professionals. She has also worked as a consultant/ trainer for internationalization of music and music events in Colombia, Senegal, Jamaica, Barbados, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, etc.
Christine has also served as an expert for the EU and UNESCO Creative Cities Network since 2013.

Previously, she worked as director of professional music network Zone Franche where she led the EU-funded “ACP Music Festivals Network” and before that, was director of content & programmes at WOMEX for nine years.

The founder of The Kurland Agency

Ted Kurland

Ted Kurland is the founder of The Kurland Agency, which opened its doors in 1975 in Boston. At the time, he was a recent graduate of Brandeis University, where he majored in economics. After Kurland graduated, he first worked for a small Boston talent agency, an invaluable experience that launched his career into the talent booking business. With two partners, he later started All American Talent, an agency that booked primarily blues artists such as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, George Thorogood, Hound Dog Taylor, and Ko Ko Taylor. All American Talent turned into Ted Kurland Associates, now The Kurland Agency, and the agency’s emphasis shifted to booking jazz artists.
 Eminent jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton was the first artist to become a client of the new company. Soon after, other major performers such as Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Bill Evans, Roy Haynes, Milt Jackson, Charles Mingus, Isaac Hayes, Dexter Gordon, Nina Simone, The Modern Jazz Quartet, Jaco Pastorius, Ravi Shankar, Astor Piazzolla, Stephane Grappelli, Tony Williams, Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton Marsalis, Bela Fleck and many other celebrated jazz musicians joined the growing TKA family of artists.
 Kurland’s client services with some musicians grew to include management and negotiating recording, music publishing, movie soundtrack and video licensing agreements.
 By the early 1980’s, the agency expanded their bookings internationally and became well established in every major market in the world, arranging tours throughout Europe, Asia, and South America and even the former USSR. 

 Although TKA remains well-known for representation of major jazz artists, they now focus on prominent performers from all genres of music such as blues, roots, world, and contemporary singer/songwriters. 

The head of the company “J Group”, producer of festivals: “Wild Mint”, “Zarya”, “VIOLET”.

Andrey Klyukin

Since 1999, he has worked for Nashe Radio, where he worked his way up from producer of the night show to creative director of the News Media Radio Group holding: Nashe Radio, Best FM, ULTRA, combining this work with conducting the AIR program (live concerts). From 2005 to 2007 he was the producer of the festival “Nashestvie”.

In June 2007, he opened the J GROUP company, which holds large and local festivals with attendance from 1,000 to 450,000 people, creates new festival brands, organizes musical events in Moscow.

Victoria is the Executive Director of the International Student Jazz Festival held in the city of Novosibirsk.

Victoria Verba

A Bachelor of Financial and Business Economics – a degree earned at Royal Holloway, University of London – Victoria graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Business in 2020. As of now, she is enrolled in the CopyrightX course at Harvard Law School to become an expert in copyright law.

Throughout her career she has produced concerts featuring such musicians as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Aida Cuevas, Natalia Lafourcade, Danilo Perez, and many others. Victoria works as an A&R and concert manager for various American media companies. She is also the producer of Tristan Simone – an American hip-hop artist and a Lollapalooza performer.

Victoria has been the Ambassador of the Ministry of Culture of Novosibirsk Region and the Director of the International Student Jazz Festival since 2017.

Rector of the Russian Institute of Theatre Art – GITIS.

Grigory Zaslavsky

PhD in Philological Sciences. Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.

Graduated from the Faculty of Theater Studies of the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (1993), the course of Inna Solovieva.

On November 15, 2016, he was elected Rector of the Russian Institute of Theatere – GITIS.

PhD in Philological Sciences (2011). Associate Professor of the Department of History of the Theater of Russia GITIS.

Laureate of the Moscow City Prize.

Member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation of the 7th convocation, First Deputy Chairman of the Commission for the Development of Culture and the Preservation of Moral Heritage (since 2020).

Media Manager of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic

Daria Bochkareva

In 2011 graduated from Omsk State University named after F.M. Dostoevsky with a degree in Management of socio-cultural activities.

From the age of 18, she worked as a live presenter on regional radio stations. Until 2016 – Project Manager of the Omsk Philharmonic.

She developed and implemented the first summer open-air of classical music in Siberia, the Bolshoi Symphonic Park, which is now held annually in Omsk.

Held a PR campaign for the 75th anniversary of the Omsk Philharmonic “Piano Art Challenge” – the project was awarded First place in the nomination “Corporate Communications” of the National Award in the field of public relations “Silver Archer – Siberia” in 2016.

In 2017, she graduated from the Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences “Shaninka” – Management in the field of culture, received a diploma from the University of Manchester – Master of Arts in cultural management and began teaching at the Production Faculty of GITIS.

Currently, he is the Media Manager of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic.

Music journalist, curator and vinyl collector

Denis Boyarinov

Denis Boyarinov has been writing about Russian and foreign music for almost 20 years, ranging from underground electronica to pop and rock mainstream phenomena. In the age of paper media he worked in and contributed to the iconic Russian magazines OM, Afisha and Time Out. He is a co-founder of Colta.ru, an independent online media outlet dedicated to culture and art, and is the head of the edition’s Contemporary Music section. Alongside his work as a journalist, he curates music events (Island of the 90s Festival, Sound Up Series), collects vinyl, plays DJ sets, and gives lectures on the history of popular music.

General Director of the Russian Concert Agency, Director of the NEW RUSSIA State Symphony Orchestra

Dmitry Grinchenko

General Director of the “Russian Concert Agency”, Director of the State Symphony Orchestra “New Russia”, General Producer of the Winter International Festival of Arts in Sochi, the All-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra, a large number of festivals in Russia and abroad, etc.)

Jazz guitarist, composer, winner of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Guitar Competition

Evgeny Pobozhy

Guitarist and composer Evgeny Pobozhy is the first Russian musician to become the winner of the famous Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Guitar Competition 2019, the most significant competition in the world of jazz. As a soloist of the Moscow Jazz Orchestra and leader of his own band, Evgeny took part in many significant events in the jazz world, including the world’s largest festivals (Rochester Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, Lotos Jazz Festival, Jazz Triumph, etc.); performed at major jazz venues around the world (Blue Note jazz club, New York; Ronnie Scott’s, London; A-Trane, Berlin; Blue Note, Beijing, etc.).

In 2018, together with the Moscow Jazz Orchestra, Evgeny took part in The International Jazz Day Global Concert (St. Petersburg), performing on the same stage with world stars of the first magnitude, such as Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Manhattan Transfer, Branford Marsalis, Joey Defransesco. In 2020, Evgeny Pobozhy and Igor Butman became representatives of Russia who took part in The International Jazz Day Virtual Global Concert — an online broadcast dedicated to the International Jazz Day, which included performances by such recognized masters as Marcus Miller, John Scofield, John Mclaughlin, Danilo Perez, Diane Reeves, Lizz Wright, Lee Ritenour and others.

He holds the titles of Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation (1995), Honoured Art Worker of the Russian Federation (2005), and is awarded with the Order of Friendship (2019). 

Leonid Vintskevich

Leonid Vintskevich is a jazz pianist, composer, music educator, organizer, and a public activist who has had a major influence on the development of Russian jazz. He is the founder and art director of the international festival “Jazz Province”. He holds the titles of Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation (1995), Honoured Art Worker of the Russian Federation (2005), and is awarded with the Order of Friendship (2019). 

Leonid Vintskevich is an active concert pianist who regularly takes part in major international jazz festivals in Europe, Russia, America, the CIS, such as Prague International Jazz Festival, Jazzbuehne in Berlin, Jazztage in Leipzig, North Sea Jazz Festival, Jazz in Europe, Baltic Jazz, Jazz Kaar, Turku Jazz Festival, Kaamus Jazz, Silda Jazz, Jazz Stroom, Vilas Jazz Blues, Vilnius Jazz Festival, Jazz Birstonas Festival, and many others. He is one of the original jazz composers who focus on European improvisation music and the 20th century classical music. The pianist’s virtuosity and inventiveness, his unorthodox “explosive” way of thinking, his powerful playing, his passion, his deep-Russian mindset, and Herculean scale have all been highly acclaimed by audiences and critics alike.

Since 1996 Leonid Vintskevich has been the inspirer, organiser and art director of a unique project — the annual international festival “Jazz Province” whose geography extends from Krasnoyarsk to Krasnodar. It is about more than 25 cities, 30 days of touring in the best concert halls of Central Russia, the Volga region, Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and more than 100 outstanding musicians from Russia and abroad each year (in total, over the years the festival has been attended by some 2500 artists). In 2013, the Festival and Leonid Vintskevich himself were awarded the prestigious Russian Federation Culture & Art Prize “For Popularisation of Jazz and the Creation and Organization of the Annual International Festival “Jazz Province”.

Founder of the Usadba Jazz Festival and CEO of the ArtMania Event Agency

Maria Semushkina

Maria is an international music expert in organizing large-scale festivals and concerts, the founder of the Usadba Jazz Festival, and the CEO of the ArtMania Event Agency since 2004In 17 years of her career, Maria has founded and produced dozens of city and club festivals and concerts that promote jazz and quality music, the list including Jazz in the Old Town Festival, LeJazz Festival, New Classics Festival, Bi-2’s first symphonic concert,  the international city art festival “Nikolin Day”that featured Emir Kusturica, Evgeny Margulis, Elka, Uma2rman, French street theaters and was attended by more than 70,000 people in just two days.

Maria actively supports and produces young music talents involved in singing-songwriting, jazz, authentic folk, and contemporary classical music.

She has her own blog in Snob Edition, manages the Telegram channel “Semushkina’s Usadba”,hosts various music radio shows, and gives lectures.

The year 2016 marked the beginning of the regular “Semushkina’s Home Concerts”.In 2020 Maria and her festival colleagues launched a social project – the online laboratory Usadba Kids. It culminated in the Forum&Festival of the same name that was held in 4 Russian cities, supporting more than 300 young talents from across the country.

CEO and the art director of Helicon Jazz Club, Novokuznetsk

Olga Yushkova

She is the CEO and the art director of Helicon Jazz Club in the city ofNovokuznetsk.

Olga produces such international festivals as Jazz by the Old Castle, KuZnya jazZ, and the Siberian Encounters Arts Festival. She is also anaward-winning vocalist at several international festivals, and the MP of“A Just Russia – For Truth” political party for the City Assembly.

Founder and the CEO of J&M Group

Maria Voloshina

J&M Group consists of the jazz and musical school “J&M”, the production center “J&M Show”, and the non-profit creative center of excellence “Musical Discovery”. Maria is also an ICF coach, business expert, and a producer.

A&R Manager of ONErpm Russia

Kamilla Nizamova

She has a background in FMCG, TV production (she managed outside broadcasting of various sport events including the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi and 2018 FIFA World Cup), live TV production of concerts and music shows, managing jazz gigs and artists.

At ONErpm Russia she is in charge of customer discovery, negotiations with artists and label officials, customer integration, artists technical assistance, and marketing planning.

Founder of Lanote Education

Andrey Lipatov

He is a Master in Pedagogy, member of Expert Council of Moscow’s Center ofExcellence for Arts, course designer, pianist, winner of international contests.

In the spring of 2019 Andrey founded Lanote Education, a music training center serving as an entire ecosystem where musicians and educators of any level can upgrade their competence using top professionals’ best practices. In just 2 years the center has been venue for 32 offline and 240 online educational events that brought together 8300 attendees from across 14 countries. The list of speakers included leading musicians from Russia, Europe and the US, such as Bob Stoloff, Jamey Aebersold, Gretchen Parlato, Ari Hoenig, Evgeny Lebedev, Evgeny Pobozhiy, and many othеrs.

Organizer of such international jazz festivals as Moving and Moving Club Meets Friends.

Denis Rybakov

He is the organizer of such international jazz festivals as Moving and Moving Club Meets Friends. He also programs the Samara Open Jazz Festival and is the founder of the MovingClub Camp.

Denis is the Director of the Moving Jazz Studio that includes a jazz school, concert agency, and a range of other projects geared to promoting jazz in the region of Samara. He is also the head of the Melomania Music School.

Musician, Art Manager of Art and Culture Public Foundation, Kyrgyzstan

Munara Korpotaeva

Munara Korpotaeva is a pianist, musician, and an art manager. Her primary focus is classical, jazz, and experimental music. She worked as the art manager of the JazzBishkek Spring Festival for 5 years.

Today Munara works at the Art and Culture Public Foundation, which she and her fellow thinkers founded in 2018 She is also a career pianist at the Kyrgyz National Conservatory.

Munara has taken part in such international projects as the Unsound DislocationBishkek Electronic Music Festival, Playing Together: Central Asian Academy ofContemporary Music, and others.She is a graduate of Goethe-Institut’s Cultural Academy for Art Managers.

Musician, artist and composer at the Ilkhom Theatre of Mark Weil, Uzbekistan

Sanjar Nafikov

Sanjar Nafikov is a musician, artist, and a composer at the Ilkhom Theatre of Mark Weil. He graduated from the Conservatory of Uzbekistan with a degree in piano performance. He has been a frequent participant in Central Asian jazz festivals since 2009 He also works as the art director and the pianist for the Tashkent band Jazzirama that explores the fusion of jazz and traditional Uzbek music.

Sanjar is a co-founder of the Ilkhom Jazz Club in Tashkent. In 2014-2016 he was a band member of the world music star Sevara.

Since 2015 Sanjar has been playing contemporary music in Omnibus Ensemble, which, among other things, delves into traditional Uzbek music, and in Omnibus Jazz Lab, an international cross-genre project.

Music Works International’s (MWI) booking agent and promoter

Luigi Sidero

European agent and promoter Luigi Sidero, a veteran of the European jazz scene whohas worked with some of the most refined jazz artists and festivals in Europe, assumedresponsibility for Music Works International’s (MWI) bookings in Central & EasternEurope. MWI is one of the few global jazz booking agencies with a dedicated agentbased in Europe. With a vast experience in musical scene and a long career as a jazzpianist, he is seeking new challenges and responsibilities to take his professionalism tothe next level.

Head of international projects department at Igor Butman Music Group, executive producer of JAB forum&festival Russian and VII International Jazz Day in St. Petersburg

ROMAN KHRISTYUK

Gnesin Academy of Music and Moscow State Academy of Law alumnus Roman Khristyuk started working with Igor Butman in 2005 as PR manager of Le Club (now Igor Butman Club). In 2006-2008 he collaborated with the Independent newspaper in Moscow as a concert observer. Now Roman is the executive producer of the Jazz Across Borders forum&festival and the head of international projects at Igor Butman Music Group, adding to it he’s working on worldwide tours for Igor Butman and Moscow Jazz Orchestra. Among IBMG’s international projects are Sochi Jazz Festival (Sochi), Triumph of Jazz (Moscow and St. Petersburg), Jazz Seasons at Gorky Leninsky (Moscow region), Future of Jazz (Moscow), Sakhalin-Hokkaido Jazz (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sapporo), World Jazz Festival (Riga) and Skolkovo Jazz Festival (Skolkovo Innovation Center). Roman Khristyuk teaches PR and concert management at Music Management Faculty of Russian Gnesin Academy of Music. In 2018, as an executive producer, he led the working groupon the preparation and holding of the VII International Jazz Day in St. Petersburg.

Founder of the Jazzist online magazine

Lev Borovkov

​​​​​​​Lev Borovkov was born in Moscow in 1985 He is trained as a lawyer specializing in intellectual property, media and broadcasting. He spent his university days studying classical guitar and learning music from the records by his favourite jazz and blues guitarists.

In May 2020 he created the jazz Telegram channel The Lost Chords. In August, together with the Alexey Kozlov Club’s art director Araik Akopian and the bloggerAlexander Anoshin, he founded the Jazzist online magazine (jazzist.ru). Thanks to the sound producer Andrey Levin, the magazine soon evolved into an entire label. Today the label’s catalogue includes the albums My Story by Dmitry Ilugdin’s Trio andAntigravity by Anna Koroleva.

Composer, director of the Dushanbe International Ethnic and Jazz Festival

Jasur Khalilov

Jasur Khalilov is a composer, pianist, and the director of the Dushanbe InternationalEthnic and Jazz Festival. He has inspired multiple musical projects, such as Khalil Brothers Trio, Modern Tajik Music, Jasur Khalilov Trio, both in Tajikistan and beyond.Having made an invaluable contribution to contemporary music in Central Asia, Jasur has been awarded numerous diplomas and accolades from various international jazz and ethnic festivals.

The year 2021 marked the release of his solo album Oriental Love Tales on the Germanlabel Hofa. Jasur often tours across Europe with prominent local musicians. He is theonly musician in Tajikistan to take part in the annual International Jazz Day celebrationorganized by jazz legend Herbie Hencock.

For over 6 years Jasur has been the director of the Dushanbe International Ethnic andJazz Festival, which is the venue for concerts and workshops by jazz musicians from allover the world.

Jazz researcher, editor of Jazz.AzJazz researcher, editor of Jazz.Az

Turan Mamedalieva

​​​​​​​Turan Mamedalieva has a PhD in Arts and is an Associate Professor in the MusicTheory Department at the Hajibeyov Baku Academy of Music. She was born onMay 21 in 1976 in Baku. She is a graduate of music history and theory from the Hajibeyov Baku Academy of Music, a jazz researcher, the editor of Jazz.Az, and a senior officer in the Music Division of the Arts Department in the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan.

Turan was a participant in the International Jazz Day in 2012, 2015, and 2018 She is the founder and programmer of the 1st International Festival and the ArtSeminar of the 8th International Jazz Day (2019). She is also the initiator of the Jazzery Voices Association and the Jazzery Voices Project that celebrates the100th anniversary of the Hajibeyov Baku Academy of Music. Turan is the author of the monograph on the work of Jamil Amirov, a prominent Azerbaijani composer. She also wrote Jazz Harmony Elements in the Works of AzerbaijaniComposers and contributed to countless articles and interviews.

Publicist and promoter

Arlette Hovinga

Arlette Hovinga (or That Jazz Girl) is a publicist and promoter based in Rotterdam, theNetherlands. With roots in tour advancing, production, and programming, she now focuses onpromoting festivals and musicians in Europe. Over the last few months she has focused onpromoting Igor Butman’s new release Only Now (Oct. 18) which was very well received; it evenlanded him on the cover of the prestigious Jazz in Europe Magazine. When she’s not on theroad with a gang of jazz journalists, she teaches at the Dutch Rock Academy, where she helpsmusicians perfect their pitches, and spends the rest of her time committed to a project rosterincluding Polish saxophonist Sylwester Ostrowski’s Szczecin Jazz Festival, the Jazz Orchestra ofthe Concertgebouw, the Amersfoort World Jazz Festival and the brand new Sicilia Jazz Festivalin Italy.

Program Director of Jazz Across Borders

Dina Nurgaleeva

In 2010 she graduated from the State University of Management with a degree inManagement in cinema and TV. In 2013, she received her PhD in Economics. She worked indifferent fields such as film-making (projects of director Ilya Khotinenko), television (RussiaToday channel) and tourism (the Ritz Carlton hotel).Dina started her business career in music as the manager of Jazz Dance Orchestra. In 2016,she founded Magnetophone Music Agency. Co-producer of the annual open air festival Cityof Jazz at Aptekarsky Garden of the Botanical Garden of Moscow State University.Programm Director of Jazz Across Borders forum & festival within St. PetersburgInternational Cultural Forum. Programm Director of International Jazz Day in St. Petersburgin 2018

Editor-in-chief of Jazz.ru

Kirill MOSHKOW

His career in music journalism started in early 1990s, he broadcasted as DJ and special shows on-air host on several radio stations in Moscow, wrote about music for magazines and newspapers, provided copy and voice-over for TV shows about music, and edited jazz news for a news agency. In 1998, he was invited to Russia’s newborn Jazz Web outlet, Jazz.Ru, as managing editor; since 2006, he is also the publisher at Jazz.Ru Magazine.

He contributed for several jazz magazines in the U.S. and in Europe (DownBeat, AllAboutJazz.Com, Jazz Forum, Jazz.Pt, Jazzthetik etc.) Since 2014, he is a board member at the Russian Jazz research center in Yaroslavl. He also serves as coordinator of Europe Jazz Media, the ring of European jazz magazines.

Moshkow wrote several books in Russian on jazz and African American music, most notably Jazz Industry in America and The Blues, Introduction to the History. He also authored chapters on the history of jazz in Russia for Pearson’s Discover Jazz (2011) and for The History of European Jazz The Music (2017).

Chief Executive of A&R ONErpm Russia

Nadezhda Boychevcki

Professional music manager, event planner, music video director.

Throughout her professional career she has been a music market expert for Universal Music Group; the general producer of Hajime Rec; the executive producer of Respect Production; the special project manager of Russian National Artist Konstantin Khabensky’s Charitable Organization. She teaches music management at Moscow Music School. She is a trustee in the charitable organization Save the Life and has a relevant experience in organizing special events.

Deputy director of the Jazz Academy, trombonist, conductor, composer and arranger

Pavel Ovchinnikov

Pavel collaborated with the jazz orchestras of Kim Nazaretov, Georgy Garanyan, Sergey Zhilin and Berlin International Orchestra.  Since 2004 Pavel has been playing at the Moscow Jazz Orchestra conducted by Igor Butman. 

Since 2014, Pavel Ovchinnikov has been leading the orchestra class and teaching jazz trombone at the Department of Jazz & Pop Music at the Maimonides State Classical Academy.  In 2017-2019 he occupied a position of the deputy director of the State College of Brass Art, now Pavel is the first deputy director of the Jazz Academy.

Pavel is the artistic director of the Jazz Triumph for Kids international jazz festival & competition and the musical director of the The Future of Jazz international festival. 

Pavel’s arrangements and musical pieces are performed by many famous musicians both in Russia and abroad.

Jazz vocalist, director of Art Of Jazz Company, director of international jazz festivals

Olga Skepner

Olga Skepner is a founder and music director of the International Festival of Improvisational Music «Jazz in the Kremlin with Olga Skepner» (Kazan, Tatarstan), the International Music Festival Hόtel de ville (Kazan, Tatarstan) and the International Festival of Contemporary Music “Brunswick Diagonals” (Germany-Russia).

In 2006, she founded the production center «Art of Jazz Company», which promotes modern improvisational and jazz music, the genres of ethno jazz and world music. In 2010, she became an organizer of the Days of French Culture in Kazan, as part of which the Jazz music festival «Le Jazz» was held in Kazan. In 2011, she was a director of the State Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan at the Tuqay Tatar State Philharmonia.

Since 2013, as a singer, she has been cooperating with jazz pianist and composer Andrei Rudenko. In the same year she founded a group, which included famous Russian jazz musicians. Director of famous Russian pianist and composer Evgeny Borets and “Evgeny Borets Trio”.

Director and founder of The International Boutique Festival CHESS & JAZZ, program director of The Bosco Fresh Fest, CEO of I’M IN booking agency

Nick Babin

Nick is a graduate of musical management faculty of Gnessin Russian Academy of Music.  He has been a program director of the Bosco Fresh Fest since 2012. Nik founded the CHESS & JAZZ festival in 2018, which is held with a great success in Moscow, Singapore and Almaty. Nick has organized concerts for such artists as Gregory Porter, Gogo Penguin, Cory Henry & Funk Apostles, James Blake, John Newman, Ceelo Green, Roisin Murphy.

Musicologist at Chelyabinsk State Philharmonic, journalist, concert host

Natalya Rikker

Natalya is the initiator and scriptwriter for a wide range of theatrical shows by Igor Burko’s Ural Dixieland. As a part of it she participated in jazz festivals in Russia and abroad and has been the ensemble’s director since 2016. Natalya is an artistic director and host of the Spring beat international jazz festival, and artistic director and host of What A Wonderful World international jazz festival. Ms Rikker is the author of different broadcasts at Chelyabinsk radio stations, including Jazz Time weekly program aired from 2003 to 2007. She worked as well for the Culture News project at South Ural State Television and Radio Company. Ms Rikker has published a dozen of articles devoted to Chelyabinsk musical life. She teaches the history of pop music styles at  South Ural State Institute of Arts P.I. Tchaikovsky.

Producer and director of the Jazz May Festval, enterpriser

Oleg Rubtsov

In 2010, Oleg Rubtsov decided to return to Penza and open an intellectual literature store called “Vpereplete. Other books” (2010-2015). Among the writers who spoke to the audience of the store, Dmitry Bykov, Irina Khakamada, Vera Polozkova and others. Since 2010, Oleg has been involved in organizing major urban cultural events, including the Humanitarian Forum “Searching for The Province” (2013- 2014), the Ivan Mozzhukhin Film Featival “A Male Role”.

Oleg developed a project of the Penza Book Fair, in 2013-2015, he worked as its producer and director. The fair was held with the support of the Government of the Penza Region (2013) and the Administration of the city of Penza (2014) in the framework of the Humanitarian Forum “Searching for The Province”. In 2015, it gained the status of an autonomous event. In 2012, Oleg joined the organizing committee of the International Jazz May Music Festival, established by the Department of Culture and Archives of the Penza Region. Since 2014, he has been the producer and director of the festival.

international projects and international booking coordinator at Kozlov Club and City Jazz Festival

Elena Moiseyenko

In 2005, she joined the ArtMania agency as a press officer and coordinator of music projects. In2007, she became the Music Director. For more than ten years, she has been the program managerfor the Usadba Jazz Festival in Moscow and other cities. She also selects and books internationalartists for the agency’s projects, such as Le Jazz Festival, City Jazz and Moscow Jazz Festivals, Festivalof Korean Culture in Russia, and Bossa Nova Festival. Throughout her ArtMania years, Elenaorganized concerts and tours for such artists as the British jazz star Jammie Cullum, bass playerRichard Bona (USA), double bassist Avishai Cohen (Israel), Melody Gardot (USA), Pink Martini (USA),legendary guitarist John McLaughlin (UK), Jean Scofield (USA), Branford Marsalis (USA), Earth Windand Fire Experience feat. Al Mckay (USA), and many others. She organized the cabaret Crazy Horse(France) and the cabaret Tropicana (Cuba) for private parties.Since she joined Kozlov Club in the autumn of 2019, they have implemented a number ofinternational projects, including workshops by Richard Bona, Robert Glasper, and Avishai Cohen, aswell as various concerts.

General director of the Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic

Yevgeny STODUSHNY

In June 2018, according to the results of an open competition,Yevgeny Stodushny assumed the post of General Director ofthe Krasnoyarsk Regional Philharmonia — one of the largestconcert organizations beyond the Urals. From 2007 to 2018, heworked as Deputy Director for Planning Concerts and FinancialActivities at the Virtuosi of Moscow State Chamber Orchestra.Alongside his professional activity, from 2010 to 2012, heunderwent an advanced training course at the DeVos Instituteof Arts Management (Washington, USA), where he trained in themarketing and fundraising departments of the Kennedy Centerfor the Performing Arts.Being invited to the Moscow Art Theater School Studio,Evgeny wrote and taught the course «Production Activity in theMusic and Concert Sphere». He participates as an expert in theseminars of the Union of the Concert Organizations of Russia.

Art director and managing director of Kozlov Club

Araik Akopyan

Araik is producer of BazzDay Ferstival, FuzzionDay Festival, Tilli Milli Jazz Festival and City Jazz Festival, co-founder the Jazzist media blog. He is Art director and managing director of Kozlov Club.