22nd Jazz Festival to take place in Tbilisi
By Mariam Chanishvili
Friday, February 8
Tbilisi Jazz Festival will take place from February 28 to March 2.
A press conference took place on February 5 and was attended by the Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport - Levan Kharatishvili, Tbilisi State Conservatoire Rector, Rezo Kiknadze, representatives of TBC Status and Eastern Promotions.
This year, the festival presents a guitar legend, Pat Metheny.
The festival opening will take place on February 28 at Tbilisi State Conservatoire Grand Hall. The grand opening will feature Tbilisi Big-Band feat New Jazz Generation.
New Jazz Generation is a new project and the band is formed by the Tbilisi State Conservatoire Jazz Faculty.
Pat Metheny, along with the Trio with Derek Oleszkiewicz & Jonathan Barber will be presented on March 1 at Tbilisi Event Hall.
As for the last day of the festival, March 2 - Pat Metheny will perform with Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra - "Missouri Skies and More", Conducted by Vakhtang Kakhidze.
Levan Kharatishvili noted that Tbilisi Jazz Festival is always an important event on the calendars of Georgians.
“Jazz, itself, serves a purpose – overcoming the borders and it is a soft power, which can play a role in diplomacy as well among nations and people,” said Kharatishvili.
The series of events is organized by TBC Status and Eastern Promotions.
Offering music since 1998, Eastern Promotion has promoted in the Caucasus region notable and highly acclaimed musicians including Ray Charles, James Brown, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin, Maceo Parker, The Manhattan Transfer, Take 6, Roy Ayers, Coolio, John McLaughlin, Joe Zawinul, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Garry Barton, Jamiroquai, Shakira, Joe Cocker among others.
For almost a decade, Eastern Promotions has established and maintained a reputation as one of the most respected agencies for jazz, blues and other musical genres in the world.
The festival is supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport and Tbilisi City Hall.
Tickets are on sale online on tkt.ge and at the box offices.
Pat Metheny was born in Kansas City on August 12, 1954, into a musical family. Starting on trumpet at the age of 8, Metheny switched to guitar at age 12. By the age of 15, he was working regularly with the best jazz musicians in Kansas City, receiving valuable on-the-bandstand experience at an unusually young age. Metheny first burst onto the international jazz scene in 1974.
He's famous for his way of playing and improvising that which is modern in conception but deeply rooted in the jazz tradition of melody, swing, and the blues. With the release of his first album, Bright Size Life (1975), he reinvented the traditional “jazz guitar” sound for a new generation of players.
He has won 20 Grammy Awards in 12 different categories including Best Rock Instrumental, Best Contemporary Jazz Recording, Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, Best Instrumental Composition.
A series of events are being planned by TBC Status and Eastern Promotions for 2019, including Black Sea Jazz Festival, Jazz and Wine in Kakheti.
As Nina Simone once said, "Jazz is not just music, it is a way of life, it is a way of being, a way of thinking".
