The “Jazz on Wednesdays” series at Dynamo Lux was described by one jazz enthusiast as a “fresh wind” when it arrived on the entertainment scene less than three years ago.
The brainchild of local jazz impresario Oleksei Kogan, the series pits local and international jazz talent against the unlikely confines of Dynamo Lux. A longstanding champion of contemporary jazz and promoter of what he refers to as “solidarity” in the jazz community, Kogan also hosts the “Music Lover’s Hour” on Radio Kontinent.
With its plethora of disco balls, strobe lights and mirrors, glitzy Dynamo is better known as the high-priced home of Kyiv’s wealthy set. The jazz series places talented musicians on a stage normally reserved for scantily clad go-go dancers. Instead of the regular posse of coat-and-tie clad New Ukrainians and their high-heeled escorts, however, a more casually dressed crowd gathers in front of Dynamo Lux every Wednesday evening. Many look like students fresh from piano lessons at the conservatory. Other, older aficionados shake hands and schmooze with Kogan before the performance.
Kogan himself sports the jazz casual look. At the June 20 installment of the series, he introduced the 3 Latin Girls ensemble while wearing a pair of brown cords and baggy Pat Methany T-shirt to complement his thick tuft of brown hair and heavy beard.
Three Latin Girls, who perform a regular Saturday night set at Le Grand Cafe, played a set of Brazilian and Afro-Cuban standards that drew a clapping, snapping, shimmying response from the packed house. Olha Petruchyna (bass), Svetlana Tabunshchkyk (percussion), Marina Vasilyeva (piano) and guest vocalist Denis Rery provided high-energy renditions of various bossa nova favorites, as well as classics like “Guantanamera” and “La Bamba.”
Kogan began the program by addressing the problem of what he sees as a lack of proper venues for jazz music. According to Kogan, most local clubs provide jazz only as an accompaniment to dining and drinking. A proper jazz space should provide a sound stage adequate for live recording and encourage focused attention on the music.
“In [Dynamo Lux], people approach these performances as jazz philharmonic concerts,” he said.
Over the course of its 150-concert history, the program has hosted jazz talent from Poland, Finland and the United States – with musicians preparing sets specifically for the series. All the performances have been recorded and 11 CDs have been compiled from the material. In fact, American trumpet player Tony Guerrero is currently negotiating with Kogan to republish tracks from his Dynamo Lux performance on his next album.
Sponsorship for the Three Latin Girls show came from the Finnish Embassy. Plans for the future of the program, however, are currently in limbo.
“It’s difficult to plan when you don’t know where the sponsors will come from,” Kogan said.
He is considering halting “Jazz on Wednesdays” temporarily while the search for new sponsors continues. But judging by the loyal and substantial crowd, there will continue to be a market for this type of high-quality, accessible jazz in Kyiv.
Jazz on Wednesdays. Dynamo Lux. 3 Hrushevskoho. Tel: 229-2884. Performances begin at 9 p.m. Admission is free.
